Gundam SEED: Dust and Fire
by Mr. Roberts
Summary: After the destruction of Heliopolis, as the Archangel flees to a Eurasian base, Kira and Mu sortie to push back the ZAFT forces. Athrun captures the Strike, though Mu manages to rescue Kira. A what if? detailing the Cosmic Era if Kira hadn't escaped.
1. Cautions

**Preface:** Since you are here reading Gundam SEED fan fiction, I'm going to assume that you are familiar with the series. However, in case you are not I would recommend that you watch the first five episodes of SEED or read a synopsis of the beginning of the series. For those of you already familiar, nothing has changed prior to this, the point of Kira's capture. I'll try to remain consistent with characters and major events, if possible.

**Title:** "Dust and Fire" is a phrase from the Rudyard Kipling poem _Pharaoh and the Sergeant_. It refers to the guidance of the eponymous Sergeant Whatsisname, itself an allusion to the biblical passage Exodus 13:21, "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light."

And now, for the ubiquitous disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny, or any of the characters contained therein. This is purely a work of fan fiction of my own devising.

* * *

**C.E. 71**

_**Cautions**_

Athrun Zala watched, deeply conflicted, as his comrade-in-arms barreled towards his old friend.

"As if I'll let them withdraw! Even if it's only this one unit!" shouted Yzak Joule over the radio as the Earth Alliance assualt ship launched recovery flares.

"Yzak! It's a withdrawal order!" said Athrun, pushing back in his flight couch, having just received orders from the Vessalius and Commander Rau La Creuset to pull back.

"Shut up, coward!" came Yzak's reply.

Athrun gritted his teeth in anger and leaned forward, watching Yzak close in on the Strike… and Kira Yamato. The Duel and Strike wove in and out in the choreographed dance of mobile suit combat. Athrun leaned back as Dearka Elsman entered the fray, blasting away with the heavy weapons of the Buster. Suddenly, Yzak darted forward charging at the Strike just as Athrun could see its Phase Shift Armor failing.

"I've got you now!" screamed Yzak over the comm.

Athrun threw open his throttle, sending the Aegis forward at top speed and shifting it into its grapple mode, as the center opened up and formed claws. He arrived seconds before Yzak, grabbing the strike in the claws before speeding off towards the Gamow.

"What are you doing Athrun?!" yelled Yzak on the radio.

"I'm capturing this unit," said Athrun resolutely, watching the distance increase between the Earth Forces ship and himself.

"What?!" screamed Yzak.

"We're ordered to destroy it!" said Dearka. "Stop doing things on your own accord!"

"It's better to capture it if we can!" said Athrun, obstinate. "Retreat!"

"Athrun!" screamed Yzak, frustrated beyond coherent words.

"Athrun, what are you trying to do?" said Kira, forcing himself into the ZAFT network.

"I'm taking you to the Gamow," came Athrun's matter-of-fact reply.

"Stop joking!" yelled Kira. "I'm not going to a ZAFT ship."

"You're a coordinator," said Athrun. "One of us."

"No, I'm not part of ZAFT!" said Kira.

"Stop this nonsense Kira!" yelled Athrun. He paused a moment before his voice returned, nearly a whisper. "You will come. Otherwise… I'll have to fire at you1" Athrun's handed trembled on his flight stick.

"Athrun…" muttered Kira over the comm.

"My mother died in the Bloody Valentine incident," Athrun said quietly. "I…" He was cut off by a warning tone as an Earth Alliance mobile armor began its attack run. He dodged the initial shots as the mobile armor shot past on its first dive. But then Dearka and Yzak, as well as Nicol Amalfi, began firing back, forcing the mobile armor to break off momentarily while Athrun powered on towards the waiting Gamow. The mobile armor kept making pass after pass, but the three mobile suits were simply too capable, and while they couldn't destroy the Earth Alliance fighter outright, they held it off until it too was low on power.

* * *

After laying the unpowered Strike on the floor of the Gamow's docking bay, Athrun walked the Aegis over to an open mobile suit berth and powered down. Finished, he flipped the switch opening the Aegis's cockpit and floated out. Orienting himself to the captured mobile suit, he pushed off. As he grabbed hold to the supine suit's chest to stop himself, a ZAFT security team arrived, armed with assault rifles trained on the still closed hatch of the Strike. 

"Kira!" he yelled, pounding on the hatch. "It's pointless! Open up!"

He sighed and stood back, removing his helmet.

"Kira, you're aboard a ZAFT ship and you're out of power. Please come out."

After another silent moment, the Strike hissed as the cockpit hatch slid open and Kira climbed out. He and Athrun looked at each other for a moment before the security personnel grabbed Kira. Athrun remained still, staring at his friend who was being led to the ship's brig. As the personnel hatch from the hangar slid closed behind the retreating figures, Athrun sighed and sat down on the now pilot-less mobile suit.

"So much sacrifice, just for you. Are you worth it?" he asked of the Strike, patting the gray armor with his hand.

"Zala!"

Athrun looked up and saw Yzak flying towards him at high speed, with a furious look on his face. He impacted with Athrun at high speed and proceeded to drag himself up to get in the blue haired man's face.

"What do you think you were doing!!" he screamed, spittle landing on Athrun's face. "You are a complete idiot! I should have killed you and then the Strike!"

"Yzak! Enough!" yelled Nicol as he landed next to his fellow and tore the raging silver haired pilot from his friend.

"Come on Yzak," said Dearka, landing next to Nicol. "Athrun is already going to get in trouble. Don't join him."

With a huff, Yzak pushed off Athrun and floated away towards the pilots' briefing room, Dearka in tow.

"Athrun, I know Yzak isn't really that angry," said Nicol. "I mean, you did violate orders, but…"

Athrun nodded, pushing himself up to a standing position.

"I… It's just…" he began, only to be cut off by the all hands chime over the PA.

"_Athrun Zala to the bridge. Athrun Zala to the bridge_."

Giving Nicol a shrug, Athrun turned and kicked off for the personnel hatch.

* * *

**A/N**: I'm sorry if some of the dialogue and descriptions seem to be a little choppy at the beginning of the chapter. It is taken literally from the subbed episode 5 of SEED up until Nicol, Yzak, and Dearka turn Mu La Flaga back. The physical actions of Athrun and the translated lines of the various characters are perhaps somewhat lacking in text when compared to their aural affect in the series. 

"Cautions" are words preparatory to words of command in late 1800's British military parlance. Again, from Rudyard Kipling's _Pharaoh and the Sergeant_. See a pattern?

Romance will be coming later. Please be patient.


	2. Make a Man of You

_**Make a Man of You**_

The dull, background whirrings and hummings of ship systems were all that kept Kira company. He turned over on the hard metal slab against the back wall of his brig cell. Ostensibly, it was a cot, but in reality was impossible to sleep on. He rolled over again, staring at the cold, bare steel around him.

_What am I going to do?_ he thought to himself. _The Archangel, my friends, are they going to be destroyed now?!_

Kira rose to his feet and paced over to the cell bars, wrapping his hands around them and squeezing with all his might to relieve his frustration.

_Why, Athrun? Why? Was it really that important that you take me?_

Suddenly, with a chime, the hatch to the brig slid open. Two ZAFT security officers carrying sidearms walked down the hall before stopping in front of Kira's cell.

"Stand back from the bars," said one.

Kira took a step back and sat down on the metal bunk. A moment later, a red-clad ZAFT officer entered. Kira gasped briefly as he recognized Athrun. Athrun floated over to the guards before gesturing to be let into the cell. He crossed and sat down next to Kira on the bunk.

"I'm sorry we have to keep you in here Kira," he began.

"I understand," replied Kira.

"It's just… If you join ZAFT and help us, they'll understand. You're a Coordinator; they realize that you were being manipulated by those Earth Forces soldiers, taking your friends captive like that," said Athrun.

"It wasn't like that," started Kira, shaking his head vigorously. "The crew wasn't using me, I volunteered…" He broke off as Athrun grinned, nodding his head.

"That's what they wanted you to think, but none of that matters now." He paused and looked up at Kira in earnest. "What matters is that you're where you belong now. So what are you going to do? Will you join ZAFT? Will you prevent another Junius 7?"

"That's…" Kira looked down, conflicting emotions raging in his mind. _I didn't know Athrun's mother died in it… but… Should I fight?_ "Will they make me fight the Archangel?"

Athrun shook his head.

"No. We're heading back to the PLANTs. Others are carrying on the hunt for now. But they'll let your friends go," he said definitively, causing Kira to look up in surprise. "Of course. We're at war with the Earth Alliance, not Orb. Orb may have chosen to help out the EA, but ZAFT is not in the business of vengeance. The destruction of Heliopolis was… unfortunate and we all regret it, but it was unavoidable."

He sighed and rose to his feet.

"I just wanted you to think Kira. We'll arrive in the PLANTs in 37 hours, so I hope you can make a decision by then." Kira could see the plea in his friend's eyes. "It will be a lot simpler if you show willingness to join from the start."

Kira looked down again as Athrun exited the cell and the guards locked it down.

"Kira," said Athrun without looking at him. "You don't have to join ZAFT. It will just be… easier on you. They're not going to torture you or anything, but one way or another, you'll be staying with the PLANTs for the rest of the war. If you don't join ZAFT, I'm sure we can find some place for you to stay." He paused and gave a sad smile. "Maybe on leave, it will be just like our time on the moon." His expression cleared and he began to march off. "Kira, it is good to see you again."

"It's… It's good to see you too, Athrun," said Kira, still trying to digest his situation. As his visitors left and the hatch slid shut, he leaned back on the bunk, massaging his temples.

_I don't want to fight anymore. I don't. It's just… Athrun seems so earnest, so dedicated. Will I be too if I visit the PLANTs?_

"Agh!" Kira sat up and slammed his fist on the bulkhead. "Sai. Tolle. Miriallia. Kuzzey. What should I-." A sudden blaring from the PA system cut him off.

"_All hands. Ship is set to Condition Two. Ship is on Condition Two. Engineering crew on full watch. That is all."_

Kira looked at the hatch, wondering what was going on.

* * *

A/N: I don't think I need to explain the title or its source. Also, apologies for the short chapter. I have the entire story up through the start of GSD planned out, so I have to build to it first. Sorry. More to come _very_ soon. 


	3. Maxim His Oppressor

_**Maxim His Oppressor**_

The large pilot briefing room was empty but for Commander La Creuset and the four red coats aboard. The young men looked at each other in confusion as the commander shuffled papers at the briefing podium in front of their chairs.

"Gentlemen," he said, looking up behind his mask. "As you know, the ship has been set to Condition Two and we have diverted from our course to the PLANTs. This is pursuant to orders from the Supreme Council. As of yesterday, one of our recon pickets announced that the Earth Alliance 8th Fleet had changed its patrol pattern to come much closer to the wreckage of Junius Seven that has fallen into the Debris Belt. As you may know your fiancée, Athrun, Ms. Lacus Clyne is leaving today aboard a civilian ship to survey the sight for the upcoming memorial ceremony. The Council has decided that an armed military escort would be counter to the intentions of the memorial group, so we will officially be rerouted to another return path to PLANT. In reality, we will be coming into close proximity of Junius Seven a day after Ms. Clyne's arrival, where we will completely coincidently join up with them for their return trip." La Creuset paused and looked at the young men before him. "I hope there will be no trouble, but if we do meet the 8th Fleet, your mobile suits will be the tip of our spear. Understood?"

The four pilots nodded and Le Creuset smiled.

"I know this will throw our arrival time off, but I believe we will still have ample opportunity for some leave after we return to the PLANTs. Very well. Dismissed."

The pilots stood and saluted as the commander floated towards the hatch.

* * *

Athrun sat in the cockpit of the Aegis in deep concentration. He had already rewritten parts of the OS during combat in Heliopolis, but now, after having a few days to check on the physical status of the stolen mobile suit, he had settled down to fine tune the software. He typed away furiously on the fold-down keyboard, engrossed by the flashing stats on the main screen. Finishing another segment, he leaned his head around the display. 

"Hey, chief!" he yelled. A moment later, the Hangar Chief floated into view, carrying various pieces of diagnostic equipment.

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"I want to run another combat input simulation on this segment of the OS. Can you have one of your techs run it?" asked Athrun.

"Right away, sir," he said, saluting the pilot. "Simmons! Muraba! Get up here on the double!"

Athrun leaned back and sighed as he stretched. Then he stood and moved to exit the cockpit, but was interrupted as the shrill claxons of General Quarters screamed from the ship PA.

"_Condition One is set throughout the ship. Condition One is set. All crew to full watch stations. This is not a drill."_

Moving quickly, Athrun ducked out of the suit and, avoiding four hangar crewmen moving at high speed to the maintenance bays, floated to the personnel hatch. In a moment, he was in the pilots' locker room, slipping into his flight suit. His three fellows entered a moment later, along with the two green coats aboard who piloted the GINNs. All six were soon outfitted and proceeded to the briefing room. They sat, muttering quietly to each other in speculation until the main view screen on the forward bulkhead lit up. Commander La Creuset nodded at them.

"_We are going to arrive in the debris belt in three hours, but we just received word from ZAFT headquarters that the _Silverwind_, the civilian ship carrying the memorial group, has not reported in for several scheduled communications checks. And a recon GINN failed to report in from a patrol an hour ago."_ Athrun could feel the bottom of his stomach drop out as he realized what was being implied. "_Nothing is known for certain yet, but we are advancing under battle conditions, as these two events are too close together to be written off as coincidence. Please board your mobile suits and standby for further orders._"

La Creuset ended the briefing and the screen turned black. Leaving the pilots silent for a moment.

"Athrun… I'm sure everything's fine," said Nicol, turning towards his friend.

"Yeah… Yeah… You're right. She's on a civilian ship anyways," said Athrun, fighting his own inner certitude at Lacus's demise.

"Come on. Let's get to the suits," said Dearka, moving off. Athrun waited for a moment, before floating off to follow him numbly.

* * *

"Contact! Bearing Indigo five-four Alpha three!" came the cry from the CIC sensor watchman. 

La Creuset's face slipped into a feral smile. They had found the _Silverwind_ five hours before, battle-damaged and devoid of life. Their search had yielded no sign of Ms. Clyne, nor any indication of where she might have gone. But La Creuset had a fairly good hunch about her current whereabouts. He was quite looking forward to seeing what young Zala would do if he realized his fiancée was in danger.

"Prepare to engage," he said to Captain Ades lazily. "Let's see what they've got."

"All weapons, prepare to fire! Launch all mobile suits!"

* * *

"_Refining sensor data. There are 6 Drake- class escort ships, 3 Nelson-class battleships, one Agamemnon-class carrier, and the legged ship. We're reading multiple TS-MA2 Moebius mobile armors. Weapons free. You are clear to engage."_

"Understood. We are engaging," replied Athrun, as he opened up the throttle of his suit. The four captured EA G Weapons formed a phalanx, charging straight into the heart of the 8th Fleet. The ZAFT warships were also moving into range of the first Drake class ship, with the GINNs providing close support against any mobile armors that made it past the G-weapons.

"Nicol, let's take that Nelson on the port side of the Agamemnon," said Athrun as he blew a Moebius out of the sky.

"_Roger that. I'm right with you."_

The two mobile suits turned in a wide loop and sped to engage the much larger warship. It's CIWS guns blazed while its even larger turrets tried desperately to track the fast mobile suits, bobbing and weaving across its engagement zone. Nicol triggered a beam into the bow turret, causing a massive explosion as the ammunition stored beneath it exploded.

Athrun reluctantly pulled the trigger, firing a beam into the starboard bow of the ship. He remembered what Commander La Creuset had said. "_It may be that these are the ships which have taken Ms. Clyne. But she will undoubtedly be in the biggest or most powerful of them. We must try to rescue her, but we cannot expose ourselves because we are too cautious to fight."_ He turned back to the ship to fire again, having paused to blow away another mobile armor. Pressing a button on his console, he waited while the Aegis reconfigured into its mobile armor mode, exposing its main cannon. _Well, I hope Lacus isn't aboard this ship,_ he thought. The main cannon fired and he sped away as the Earth ship seemed to jump and then violently ripped apart as a huge explosion tore it from within.

The rest of the battle passed extraordinarily quickly for Athrun. The ever-present potential for death in battle combined with his fear for Lacus to make him completely numb. He was only returned to his senses as the Agamemnon-class carrier blew up and a message came across all frequencies.

"_ZAFT ships, this is the Earth Alliance assault ship Archangel. Stand down immediately. We have the daughter of the Supreme Council chairman on board. Withdraw at once."_

Athrun was floored and immediately stopped his mobile suit's progress. All of the other ZAFT vessels broke off their attacks as well, leaving the remnants of the 8th Fleet, now only 1 Nelson, the legged ship, and 2 Drakes, a chance to regroup. Another screen quickly popped up next to the audio-only earth transmission.

"_I'm afraid that's a little hard to believe. Such a claim is hardly one to be made casually,"_ said La Creuset with a shrug.

"_Indeed,"_ came the reply from the Earth ship. Suddenly, the audio-only indicator flickered into a video feed. Contained within was a shorthaired female Earth officer and a young woman… with pink hair that Athrun could recognize anywhere. Lacus looked up sadly into the display, seemingly communicating with her bright blue eyes.

"_You bastards!"_came Yzak's screen over the radio.

"_This is not something we want to do, but you leave us no choice."_

"_This is a violation of the laws of war!" _yelled Dearka. Athrun could only stare in silence.

"_You have your options! Withdraw at once!"_ The Earth Alliance feed went black, but the ZAFT net came alive with Yzak's screams and demands to engage.

"_I believe we have no choice but to withdraw,"_ came Commander La Creuset's calm voice. "_We do indeed have no choice. We have greatly damaged the 8__th__ Fleet. We will withdraw and wait for further orders. Return to ships._"

With Yzak's curses still coming over the air, Athrun, in a daze, turned the Aegis and began the flight back to the waiting ships.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter title from you-know-where. Things will be getting a bit longer as we get into some of the meatier parts of the story. Also, don't worry. Athrun, despite getting most of the POV for now, is not the focus of the story. Kira will very much come to the forefront very soon, in about 2 chapters. At any rate, thanks for all of the positive feedback. I'll keep updating as quickly as I'm inspired to write. The next chapter is another slow, set-up chapter, so it may take a little longer for me to update with it. 


	4. All the Plagues of Egypt

_**All the Plagues of Egypt**_

"I suppose we'll have to withdraw," said Commander La Creuset as he watched the plotting table update with the positions of the remnants of the 8th Fleet.

"But what will they do with Lacus?" asked Athrun, still in his flight suit. "If they get her to Earth or the Moon…"

"Yes, but there is no way we can stop it now," said Captain Ades, turning in his command chair. "Commander La Creuset is right. We need to withdraw and update the Council on the situation with Ms. Clyne and the 8th Fleet."

"And think, Athrun; a future rescue operation will now be much easier to complete. The 8th Fleet is now much weaker and Earth is left with a much larger gap in orbital defenses," said La Creuset, a smirk lurking just behind his stern face. "Very well," he said, turning toward Ades. "Signal the _Gamow._ Have it transfer the captured mobile suit and pilot. It will stay on station while we return to the PLANTs."

"Yes, sir." Ades turned back toward the main view screen. "Communications, hail_Gamow._"

"Aye, sir. Hailing-"

"Sir! Vector change among the 8th Fleet emanations," cried the sensor watchman. "The legged ship and a personnel shuttle are both on profile for reentry. The remaining ships are staying in their previous orbit."

"What are the landing destinations for the legged ship and shuttle?" asked La Creuset lazily.

"Sir, the shuttle, on this approach, should end up in Orb. And the legged ship…" The tech paused a moment and looked up. "It's taking Ms. Clyne to Alaska."

* * *

"Yes… Understood… Yes… Yes, I understand… And the… Good... Very good… Have them remain aboard for now. And keep her there as well… Yes… Excellent… We'll inform you within the hour." 

The Atlantic Federation admiral set down the phone and leaned back, smiling to himself for a moment. He then looked up and smiled openly to surrounding policy board of the AF.

"Good news and bad news, gentlemen. First, the good news. The Archangel has landed in Alaska safely and intact. Also, most fortuitously, it has on-board a prisoner. One Lacus Clyne."

The board sat in silence for a moment before breaking out in chuckles.

"Oh, really?"

"That'll throw ZAFT for a loop wont it?"

"Serves the damned Coordinator right for messing around in a civilian ship!"

"Yes, yes, that is all very good," said Muruta Azrael, "but what bad news did you have?" The laughter stopped.

"Unfortunately, in the fighting retreat from Heliopolis, ZAFT mobile suits were able to capture the last of our G-weapons."

Now the room was completely silent and grim as the board members pondered the problem.

"And unfortunately, the Archangel did not receive any of the technical data downloads from the builders on Heliopolis it was supposed to receive," continued the admiral.

"So we have no building plans for our own mobile suits now?" asked a general.

"No we do not, but I see you are not too upset, admiral," said Azrael. He grinned at the admiral's nod. "Then we think alike. Gentlemen, the time for non-committal actions is past. We must be firm and bold to secure victory and safety for Earth. And we are very fortunate that the means for victory are at hand." He looked around at all of the assembled politicians and military leaders, expecting their reaction. "Orb will have detailed plans. It is time they joined the Earth Alliance."

"What?! There's no way they'll agree to that!"

"Absolutely no way!"

"They've made their neutrality clear from the beginning and that damned Athha character will be raging mad when he finds out Orb citizens were building the G's for us!"

"We have treaties affirming that they have sovereignty. We can't force the plans out of them."

"The time for such frivolity is passed!" yelled Azrael rising to his feet and slamming his fist on the table. "Don't you see? ZAFT has all of our G-weapons! Their technology will improve more and more and we will only fall farther behind! Orb is weak compared to ZAFT. If they won't give us the plans, we'll take them by force."

"You have a plan, Azrael?" asked a senator.

"Simple. Orb's navy is fearsome, yes. But it's not a large country, and it's military isn't that large. We'll simply bring in the Pacific and Indian Fleets."

"Yes, we'll need that much. Their technology is much better than ours," said the admiral. "On a one-on-one basis, we'll lose, but with numbers we can swamp them."

"Exactly!" said Azrael, grinning fiercely. "We need the plans for mobile suits and we'll give Orb two choices: they can give it to us as full members of the Earth Alliance or we can take it from the burned out buildings of their country." Slowly, his grin spread around the room.

"Well, no one's ever said you aren't bold, Azrael," said the president. "Any objections? Very well. I'll deliver our unanimous approval to Congress for ratification. Not that we'll have any trouble," he said to general laughter. "Admiral, on my authority, alert the Pacific and Indian Fleets. Oh, and send down the Archangel as well."

"Yes, sir," said the admiral. He stood, saluted, and walked out of the room with a feral grin plastered on his face.

* * *

**A/N**: A shortish chapter, but hopefully I'll have another update within the hour. Getting there. Slowly. 


	5. From Bondage So He Came

_**From Bondage So He Came**_

Kira leaned back in the lawn chair, staring up at the artificial sky of the PLANT.

_Spending the rest of the war here wouldn't be too bad, would it?_ he thought to himself, stretching in the light breeze coming off the bay.

Now on his fifth day in the PLANT, Kira still found himself surprised at his treatment. When he had first been brought out of the _Vesalius_'s brig in binders, he had thought he was bound for another jail cell. But after a few hours in front of two officers, answering their questions to the best of his ability, he had been brought here, to this secluded cottage, far from the cities surrounding the main trunk of the PLANT. Granted, he was not free to do as he wished, and the numerous green coat guards surrounding the grounds kept a constant watch on him, but all in all his surroundings were infinitely more pleasant than a brig cell.

He smiled, eyes still closed.

_Athrun must really want me to join ZAFT_.

But then his smile died and he sat up, peering into the distance.

I hope everyone is all right. Athrun said that the Archangel was okay, but still… 

"Kira!" He turned to see Athrun, clad now in civilian clothing, approaching him with another chair and a bag.

"Hey, Athrun," he said, sitting up fully in his chair.

"I hope my father wasn't too intimidating," his old friend said ruefully. Kira grinned appreciatively. He had never met Athrun's father before the Councilman had visited the cottage. The meeting had been brief and formal. Kira could tell the man was dying to order him into the ranks of ZAFT, but Athrun must have told his father to not be so blatant.

"Not at all. What brings you here today?" said Kira.

"I'm here because there's no longer time to dance around the issue at hand." Athrun paused for a second, brushing a piece of his strikingly black, almost blue, hair out of his eyes. "Kira, I've said it before. You belong here and you belong in ZAFT. I hope you've seen we're nothing like those Earth Alliance murderers. You've killed ZAFT soldiers, but we recognize why you did it. We even respect it. If you think the EA would have done that… But that's neither here nor there. I have some information."

"Go on," said Kira, now curious.

"Our intelligence resources have informed us that the EA's Pacific and Indian fleets are mobilizing and now steaming towards Orb." He grimaced. "Our analysts expect they're going to force Orb to join the Alliance and get the mobile suit information we stole from them."

"But… But Orb's neutral!" Kira said, in shock. "They just don't want to be interfered with."

"We know, but the Earth Alliance is desperate. Every day our technology is advancing while they make little progress." Athrun shrugged. "So far all that's given them an advantage is sheer weight of numbers. Their G-Weapon program was an attempt to shift the status quo, but we obviously prevented it. But they'll throw everything they have to get that information from Orb. If Orb won't surrender it peacefully, they'll take it by force."

"Orb will never just give it up," said Kira, shaking his head. "The Orb military may not be big, but they'll never just let the EA walk over them."

"Exactly. That's why I'm here, asking for your help," said Athrun, earnest and serious. "Join ZAFT. Pilot the Strike. Orb is your home country. Help us help them."

"But I don't want to fight," said Kira, dejectedly.

"I know, none of us do," Athrun said frowning. "But there are some things worth fighting for. You said you wanted to protect your friends? Well, they're back in Orb now. When the legged ship entered the atmosphere and went to Alaska, the 8th Fleet let your friends and the other survivors from Heliopolis return to Orb in a shuttle. They're there now."

"Really? They're all okay?" asked Kira, astonished.

"Really. We have the intelligence and sensor data confirming this. Now the Earth Alliance is threatening them." He paused for a moment. "Please Kira. You are an incredible pilot. I've had years of training, and you were matching me on your second day in a mobile suit ever. If you don't think you can contribute to Orb's defense, you're just plain wrong. Join, Kira. Protect Orb, your friends, your parents, whatever you want. I'm begging you."

The two friends sat in silence, Athrun staring at Kira, Kira staring at the ground. At length, Kira turned towards his friend.

"Very well. I'll join you."

* * *

The public restroom in the terminal was empty but for Kira. He stood alone, trying to straighten his new ZAFT red coat, though it was already immaculate. When he could no longer find more imaginary mistakes to fix, he turned, picked up his duffel, and strode into the departures lobby. The few ZAFT soldiers left were, like him, heading towards the few shuttles still waiting to bring them to their ships. Showing the green coat guard at the ticket counter his new military ID, Kira joined the queue for the shuttle to the platform where the_Vesalius_ was birthed. The shuttle was relatively empty and Kira had a whole row to himself.

Sighing, he looked out of the window as the press of acceleration forced him back into the flight chair. He had been sworn in barely a day before by Athrun's father, who also granted him the special red coat for his incredible skill. Now, he was on his way, going to join Athrun in the La Creuset team. The Strike had already been refitted and returned to the _Vesalius_, after a very thorough structural analysis.

_God, I hope I've made the right decision_, he thought, massaging his temples. _But it's too late for all of that now. Two days to orbit, and then we drop in support of Orb_.

He looked up again. In the distance, the harsh contrast of light and shadow on the _Vesalius_'s platform reached out to him.

* * *

**A/N:** Not quite an hour, but whatever. Yes, things are moving a bit more quickly than in the series. The timeline I've worked out takes about four months for the SEED plot instead of the eight months in the anime. As a specific note for the Archangel's reentry, it was mentioned earlier that the 8th Fleet's patrol route had been shifted closer to the wreck of Junius 7, hence the faster time to link up and reenter. At any rate, more coming soon. We're almost to something besides plot exposition. 


	6. Awful Way O' Doing Business

_**Awful way o' doing business**_

"_For the last time, we neither need nor want your assistance. ZAFT's presence will simply worsen the situation for Orb. You are not allowed to violate our airspace. Orb High Command out."_

"Ah, well. It wasn't like we thought they would accept our offer at any rate," said La Creuset, leaning back in his chair as the recorded message ended. He turned, staring at the young pilots standing at parade rest on the bridge. "We'll begin Operation Irene in 45 minutes. You five will activate the Amber Variant. You'll be in the second drop wave and go after the command ships the first wave designates. Clear?" The young men all braced to attention. "Very good. Please go prepare yourselves."

As one, the pilots saluted and marched out of the bridge in silence. A short lift ride later, they were suiting up in the pilots' locker room. When they had finished, and were making there way to the hangar, Athrun pulled Kira aside.

"I'm really glad you're here."

"Yeah…" said Kira, still looking a bit apprehensive.

"Don't worry," said Athrun confidently. "We're doing the right thing. The Earth Alliance is once again proving its disgusting nature. You're an amazing pilot, Kira. We'll go down there, smash the EA, and return home."

Smiling, Kira let Athrun push him out of the hatch.

* * *

"_Second wave drop in 30 seconds. Second wave drop in 30 seconds."_

Once more, Kira checked the settings and conditions of the drop pod he was sharing with Athrun, Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol. Since the first wave had dropped 30 minutes before, the La Creuset team had exited the_ Vesalius_ and boarded one of hundreds of drop pods holding station in orbit. His paranoia sated, Kira sat back and watched the intelligence feed trickle into one of his secondary monitors. So far, the first wave was ripping through the light screening forces spread out in front of the main EA fleet, but soon enough, they would taste the big guns of the capital ships.

"_Drop! Drop! Drop!"_ came the call from the radio. Instantly, under remote control, retroburners on the pod fired and it began its descent. The buffeting was fierce, even within the layers of shock shielding holding the mobile suits. And even the extremely efficient coolant and insulation systems couldn't keep the temperature from rising noticeably. Kira checked the OS calibrations for surface combat and prepared to exit the drop pod. Suddenly, they cleared the shock layer of the reentry and left radio black out. With an audible snapping noise, the explosive bolts of the drop pod fired and the sides fell away.

Keeping off the thrusters, Kira simply let the Strike fall forward, slowly entering formation with the other four.

"_Alright, Kira, you're with me. We're taking the command carrier labeled R8. Nicol has the cruiser T12, and Dearka and Yzak have the battleship I9," _came Athrun's voice. "_Alright, let's go!"_

Kira peeled off with Athrun, vectoring towards the target showing up on his main view screen. Still 8000 meters up in the midst of the second wave, they had to be careful to avoid collisions with other mobile suits, but soon they were in the flight profile for the target, which was holding back, commanding behind the battle.

"_Kira, are you good for this?"_ said Athrun.

"Yeah," replied Kira, taking a deep breath. "Yes, I'm ready."

"_Good."_ There was a brief moment of silence as their altitude dropped even more. "_Okay. Throttle up!"_ yelled Athrun suddenly, as the Aegis darted forward on its main thrusters. Kira threw his own throttle open and was slammed back into his flight coach as the effects of acceleration hit him. Now at 2000 meters, Kira activated his targeting systems, trying to peer through the N-Jammer induced fog of war to find the command carrier's escorts. The jamming still too great to get a radar lock, Kira simply turned up the magnification on the Strike's optical sensors.

"Athrun, I'll take the escort off the port bow of the carrier."

"_Roger, I'll take the cruiser off the stern."_

Silence descended again as they waited to come into range. Ten, fifteen seconds passed, and then the distinctive positive lock tone from the range finder sounded. Not pausing to think, Kira's finger squeezed the trigger on his control stick and the green bolt leapt from his rifle. He tracked it as it flew downrange, impacting on the destroyer's bow gun.

And then the battle was upon him. Kira lost himself in the desperate melee, throwing his mobile suit into wild turns and rolls, shaking off every piece of flak and every SAM that the carrier's escorting forces could throw at him. He triggered beam after beam into the destroyer, literally boiling away the thin armor. Finally, a shot penetrated the magazine beneath the stern gun and the destroyer ripped apart in a huge fireball.

"_Good work! Fighters! 3 o'clock high!"_ yelled Athrun in warning.

Kira rolled in the air, peering upwards with the full spectrum of the Strike's sensors. Suddenly, the shrill shrieking of the warning system told him he was being acquired with targeting radar. His left foot slammed down onto the control pedal as he threw the Strike into a rapid barrel roll. The Earth Alliance Skygraspers targeting him had to peel off, pulling up high to come in again on another attack run. Preparing himself, Kira raised his beam rifle. As they atmospheric fighter began their run, Kira fired wildly into the group, forcing its tight formation to fall apart. One peeled off, trying to jink down below the Strike, but Kira was ready. Triggering the head-fixed CIWS guns, Kira ripped apart the light fighter with 75 mm rounds. Flinging the Strike around, he caught another fleeing fighter with a glancing beam shot, tearing off its rear control surfaces. The helpless plan fell into a flat spin, dropping precipitously until impacting an EA frigate.

The airborne annoyances off his back for now, Kira turned the Strike and his attention back to the carrier force below him. Athrun had finished off another cruiser and destroyer, and was now pumping beams into the final escorting frigate. Kira only had time for three shots until the small escort joined its fellows, sinking to the sea floor. Now, the command carrier was alone, the nearest Earth ships almost three nautical miles away. It opened up with its last ditch CIWS guns, but the Strike's and Aegis's Phase Shift Armor easily shrugged off the small rounds. While Kira circled the ship, picking off the harmless but annoying guns, Athrun actually landed on the flight deck, blasting the few fighters trying to take off at the last moment. Satisfied with the destruction of the CIWS cannon, Kira slowly eased the Strike down next to Athrun.

Without a word between them, they both stowed their beam rifles and deployed beam swords. Athrun charged forward, mauling the superstructure. Kira kneeled down and plunged the beam sword down into the flight deck, tearing open a jagged whole. Standing back, he triggered his CIWS cannon into the whole, ripping further into the ship while he brought his beam rifle to bear. Having finished ripping off the command tower, Athrun joined Kira, pouring more beam rifle down into the hull of the carrier. Suddenly, one of the beams hit the armory, touching off some of the bombs stored within. The massive explosion threw both mobile suits off their feet. Kira slammed down on his foot pedals and opened his throttle, catching the Strike mere feet above the ocean. Climbing back up to inspect the carrier, Kira saw that the simultaneous ordinance detonations within the carrier had done it in. Slowly, the still function screws of the carrier were tearing it in half.

"_Nice work, Kira," _said Athrun as they watched the bow of the carrier slip under the waves. "_Let's go find some targets of opportunity."_

The Aegis turned and sped towards land, and the ever-mounting battle. Kira followed closely, looking at the intelligence updates. With the third ZAFT wave touching down just now, it looked like the Earth forces would be pushed back. However, their massive numbers meant that it would take quite sometime for the technologically superior ZAFT and Orb forces to finish them off.

_Orb,_ Kira thought. _I wonder if my friends are fighting the EA now, too…_

"_Kira!"_ Kira's reverie was ended by Athrun's call. "_It's back. At 6 o'clock. It just entered detection range. It's the Archangel."_

Gasping, Kira pulled the Strike up, turning it to peer in the indicated direction. Sure enough, through enhanced magnification Kira could see the distinctive legged shape of the Archangel cresting the waves as it approached the battle. His mind warring against the idea of it being there, of him fighting it, he didn't notice the arrival of Yzak, Nicol, and Dearka, who had all finished off their assigned targets.

"_Alright,"_ said Athrun, interrupting Kira's thoughts again. "_We're taking on the Archangel."_

"_This time, it's going down!" _yelled Yzak.

As the four other pilots tore off towards the approaching assault-carrier, Kira just shook his head, furiously calming his fears. Then, with a force of will, he opened up his throttle and sped forward to join the assault.

* * *

**A/N:** I think you can tell where this is going. At any rate, if any of you have more detailed questions about any of the events in this story, technical details, or more precise information about battles, please feel free to ask. I wish I could share all of my story concepts and the ideas that are in my head, but I'm afraid that would result in 10,000 word chapters. We're getting close to Lacus and Kira's first meeting. Yay.

**EDIT:** As animefan29 points out, I did forget to talk about ZAFT's Guul subflight lifter. I had intended to mention their deployment during the final stages of the drop, but obviously, I forgot to. And, fortunately, I don't believe it would have changed the narrative at all. As for the whole Yzak accepting Kira issue, this is still from Kira's perspective and he hasn't been around Yzak yet for us to see their current relationship. Trust me, it's not hunky-dory and that will come up next chapter, and become a big deal later on. Finally, as for Kira killing people easily, Kira didn't really have problem killing people in SEED until he killed Nicol. Prior to that he hadn't really realized what he was doing. In fact, he killed Miguel in episode 3. As I said, "Kira lost himself in the desperate melee" and just reacts. Again, this will become an issue later. Sorry for the cheating edit/update. I just wanted to clear these things up now, as it might be a few days before the next story update. Later.


	7. Land of His Desire

_**Land of His Desire**_

Lacus awoke with a start. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she looked about curiously as the blaring alarms of general quarters lit off around her. Captain Ramius had been very accommodating to her, allowing her to stay in a locked cabin rather than the brig. She had also tried to explain to Lacus what was awaiting her in Alaska, but Lacus had been saved from that by the near immediate mobilization order.

_Dear me. Is the Archangel going to be fighting ZAFT again?_ she thought, worried._I certainly hope not._

Her reverie was dispelled as the admittance tone sounded from the door.

"_This is Ensign Badgiruel. I'm coming in."_ The door slid open, allowing the ensign and to crewmen, armed with sidearms, to enter.

"You are needed on the bridge," explained the brunette, tersely. Lacus merely nodded and rose, collecting herself. She followed the officer through the now familiar passageways of the Archangel. In only a few moments, the lift they had taken deposited them on the bridge.

"Ms. Clyne," said Captain Ramius, rising from her seat. "I'm afraid we are about to enter battle again. ZAFT has initiated a drop operation in support of Orb against our invasion force. We have orders from CINCPAC to bring you as a potential bargaining chip. We have no choice but to comply. I just wanted to say I'm very sorry for your treatment."

"Don't worry yourself," said Lacus, with a sad smile. "I realize this is not your fault. You have your orders and I respect you for following them." She turned towards the tactical repeaters mounted on the forward bulkhead. "Is ZAFT and Orb likely to win?"

"Perhaps," said Ramius. "Initially, reports had us winning simply by virtue of numerical advantage, but ZAFT is dropping its forth wave now, and our advantage is starting to slip." She grimaced and turned toward Lacus. "That just makes it all the more likely we'll be ordered to use you as a hostage."

Lacus nodded and turned to look at the displays again, in silence. All at once, a blaring tone came from the communications station.

"Captain! A message from COMPACFLT. Message begins. _You are to dispatch all onboard fighters to engage in combat._ Message ends."

"Very well," said Ramius, picking up the handset alongside her command chair. "Flight ops. Tell Lieutenant La Flaga he is to take off at once. And tell him good hunting." Setting the handset back in its place, she rested her forehead on her hand for a moment, sighing. Then she sat back up and turned towards Ensign Badgiruel. "You had better get the CIC ready. I expect we'll not escape the fighting. And you two can return to your duty stations," she said, addressing the two crewmen who had accompanied Lacus. Saluting, the three turned and headed off to their respective posts.

* * *

"_Sorry, Murrue. Tell Murdoch I'll be coming in hot. My thrust reversers got blasted off by one of those damned DINNs._" The powerful radio transmission from La Flaga's Skygrasper was still marred by static from the intense jamming.

"Understood. Just hold yourself together until you make it back," said Ramius, trying to maintain some levity.

"_Ma'am, yes ma'am. See you in a bit. La Flaga, out_."

"Captain Ramius! We have four, no five large heat sources rapidly approaching along Lieutenant La Flaga's flight path 2 kilometers off his stern," came the alert from the CIC.

"Are we getting an IFF return?" asked Ramius.

"Not yet, ma'am."

Lacus listened to the exchange, but understood little of what it actually meant for the ship. Nonetheless, she hoped for ZAFT forces to capture the Archangel, though she felt a little bad for the people around her when she wished for it. _ I'll make sure you are treated as well as you treated me,_ she promised silently.

"Damn! Ma'am, we still have no IFF, but the heat sources match the Aegis, Blitz, Buster, Duel… and Strike."

"They've gotten a new pilot so quickly?" asked Ramius to nobody in particular. "All hands prepare for anti-mobile suit combat. Tell La Flaga to expedite his landing. And tell him to not even think about launching again. He wouldn't last a second."

"We have a visual coming up now." The main screen reconfigured, showing a highly magnified image of the five mobile suits approaching atop their Guul subflight lifters.

"Send a message to fleet," said Ramius, turning towards the communications officer of the watch. "Tell them we are without support and require immediate assistance. Tell them we cannot hold off five mobile suits alone for any period of time."

Lacus's breath came faster now as her hopes rose. _They're coming!_

"Prepare to fire the Gottfrieds and Valiants! Engage them at the maximum possible range!"

"Target's locked! Twenty seconds to range!"

"Tubes one through four loaded with Korinthos missiles."

"Positive fire control contacts. Ten seconds to range."

"All hands, prepare to engage!" yelled Ramius from her chair, half rising. "Fire!"

Lacus gasped as the Archangel's weapons belched forth destruction. She cringed as again and again the weapons fired, tracking the rapidly dodging mobile suits.

"Ma'am. Lieutenant La Flaga's Skygrasper is aboard."

"The enemy mobile suits have the range on us and are returning fire."

"Fleet reports that there is no support available at the moment. We are to disengage by whatever means possible."

"Hit on the port bow Igelstellung."

Lacus could only watch in stunned silence as Murrue Ramius, a woman not too much older than herself, calmly took the situation in hand, dispensing orders and keeping the crew from panicking. She hadn't realized she had backed up against the aft bulkhead until the lift slid open next to her. Not sparing the captive a glance, Lieutenant La Flaga ran up to stand beside the command chair.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, though his flippant tone was belied by the scowl on his face.

"Hits on the starboard Valiant!"

"We have no support from fleet and we're steadily losing ground to the G-Weapons. They've even sent the Strike," replied Ramius, a frown her only recognition of the damage.

"Really? I hope the kid's okay." He grimaced as another Igelstellung CIWS mount was damaged. "But I really wish we still had him right now."

"What should we do, Mu?" asked Murrue, almost whispering. He turned and gave her a sharp look. "I don't think we can win," she continued.

"If I may," said Lacus, speaking up. "If you surrender, I'll make sure my father has you treated well. You've been kind to me, and we have no reason to harm you."

"Surrender?" said Mu, almost whimsically. He turned towards Ramius. "It might be the only thing we can do, Murrue." He shrugged. "At least we'll see the kid."

"Ma'am, there's still one thing we can do!" Lacus looked over to find Ensign Badgiruel. She had left her CIC post and was no standing, holding a pistol on Lacus. "It's within the scope of orders to do this, Ma'am."

"Ensign, I don't think…"

"We have to do this. Open a channel!" yelled Badgiruel at the communications officer. "Open a channel now!"

In shock, the crewman complied and the ensign stepped forward, forcing Lacus in front of her.

"Attention ZAFT mobile suits! Withdraw now! Ms. Lacus Clyne is aboard this vessel! You must withdraw immediately!"

"_God damn you!"_ came a reply almost instantly. "_You've already done this once, you sons of bitches!"_

"It doesn't matter! The choice is still the same," continued Badgiruel as the channel was reconfigured to video, and four video-feed replies appeared. "Withdraw now!"

"_I'll kill you!"_ screamed the ZAFT pilot, now seen to have silvery platinum blond hair, though Lacus didn't recognize him.

"_Yzak! Calm down!_" said one with blond hair and a dark tan, still unknown to Lacus.

"_Earth ship, this is in violation of the laws of war, as we pointed out before!"_ said still another, with bluish-black hair, whom Lacus recognized immediately.

_Athrun's here again!_ thought Lacus excitedly, remembering his presence in the fight in orbit.

"_Athrun is right. Captain Ramius, I must ask that you stop this immediately,"_ came a calm voice from a fifth video window that suddenly appeared.

"Kira?" said Murrue stunned.

"Kid? What the hell are you doing?" said Mu.

"_I'm defending my homeland. The PLANTs are in the right. ZAFT is doing the right thing here! Don't you see that! Please, stop doing this."_

"No! Withdraw now, traitor!" said Ensign Badgiruel dragging Lacus down by her hair and leveling the pistol against her head. A guttural scream came from the silvery-haired pilot as his mobile suit bored in on the Archangel. Beams flew from its rifle, damaging two more Igelstellungs.

"_No! Yzak!"_ shouted Kira.

Seeing her chance, as the Strike flew straight in, pursuing the Duel, Badgiruel turned to shout to the CIC. "Gottfrieds! Fire!"

"Look out!" screamed Lacus in horror as the big guns tracked onto the mobile suit. In the video feed, the young man's eyes widened as the images registered. Time seemed to slow for Lacus. On the main display, the Strike seemed to stop altogether. Then, in one flurry of movement, the mobile suit lowered its beam rifle and fired twice into the Archangel, blowing away the Gottfried mounts.

"Cease fire!" yelled Murrue. "Ensign! Put that weapon down!" She turned to look back at the video feeds. "I formally offer to surrender."

"_We accept,"_ came the reply from Athrun. "_Please power down your weapons and open your hatches."_

"I understand," said Murrue. Lifting up her handset, she opened the ship-wide circuit. "This is Captain Ramius. We have surrendered to ZAFT. Prepare to be boarded. There is to be no resistance." She set down the handset and stood, walking towards the lift at the back of the bridge. She paused and gave Lacus a small nod. Lacus returned it and followed, entering the lift with Murrue and Mu.

* * *

**A/N:** KxL is imminent! And sorry, but the Kira vs. Yzak face-off will have to wait for the next chapter. Likewise with the Kira "killing people" issue. It turned out that there was more I wanted to do with this chapter than I thought. I'll update ASAP. 


	8. Wicked Bad Campaigning

**Wicked Bad Campaigning**

Setting the Strike down in the all too familiar hangar of the Archangel, Kira popped his hatch and exited his mobile suit. Athrun had already reached the deck and was waiting for him to come over. Yzak, Dearkka, and Nicol had been posted outside, guarding the captured assault ship until more ZAFT forces could arrive.

"Do you want a handgun?" asked Athrun as Kira came over.

"I trust them," replied Kira, shaking his head.

"Kid!" Kira turned to see Mu coming straight for him out of the personnel hatch, with Murrue and a girl in tow. "What's going on?" said Mu, looking puzzled at Kira's ZAFT Red flight-suit.

"It's a long story. I'm sorry things turned out like this." Kira looked at his shoes.

"Eh, these things happen," said Mu with a grin and shrug of his shoulders. He then looked over at Athrun. "And you are?"

"I'm Athrun Zala," he said. "An old friend of Kira's."

"Zala?" asked Murrue, coming to stand besides Mu. "As in the son of Patrick Zala?"

"That's correct," said Athrun, defiantly cocking his head.

"I'm sorry. I'm Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, former captain of this ship," said Murrue, still surprised. "And this is Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, our pilot. And I believe you may know this young lady."

Kira turned to take a closer look at the girl who had come in with them. Kira had seen plenty of beautiful women in his life, but the pink-haired girl before him was entirely different form anyone he had ever come into contact with before. He caught himself staring into her blue eyes, and quickly averted his gaze, blushing.

"Yes, I do," said Athrun, not noticing his friend's embarrassment. "Are you okay, Lacus?"

"I'm quite fine, Athrun, thank you," replied the girl.

Kira blushed more fiercely now as he heard her voice. _What is your problem? _he asked himself. _Get a grip!_

"Captain Ramius has treated me very well," she continued. "I would ask that you make sure the favor is returned."

"Of course," said Athrun, giving a nod of thanks to Murrue.

"And who is this?" asked the girl, turning to look at Kira. He looked up meeting her gaze, only to shift his eyes away again, blushing more and more.

"This is Kira Yamato," said Athrun. "He's a Coordinator from Orb and he's now a Red coat in ZAFT."

"After you captured him," muttered Mu.

"I see," she said. "Mr. Yamato, it is very nice to meet you. I am Lacus Clyne. Thank you for helping in my rescue."

"Um, you're welcome," replied Kira.

"If you are from Orb, though, why are you with ZAFT?" continued Lacus.

"Well, I was on Heliopolis, so I had to join with the Earth Alliance originally to escape." He nodded at Murrue and Mu. "But Athrun captured me and brought me to the PLANTs. When I heard the Earth Forces were going to invade Orb, Athrun convinced me to join."

"I'm sorry Kira," said Murrue, reaching out to grab his shoulder. "We've caused you a lot of pain." Kira smiled up at her.

"Well, Captain, I'm afraid we'll have to see about getting this ship prepared to withdraw," said Athrun. "There's still a battle going on out there. The fleet commander wants this ship to be ready to move out immediately. We'll be going to Carpentaria to refit and then to the mass driver in Kaohsiung."

"Of course, let me show you to the bridge," said Murrue, leading Kira and Athrun out of the hangar.

* * *

"And they're still pushing us back?" asked the Atlantic Federation chief of staff.

"_Yes, sir. We've had nearly 37 casualties. Ships are going to start running, with or without orders, any moment from now,"_ came the reply from the Indian Fleet commander, thousands of miles away in his command ship.

"Very well. Pull back and regroup. See if you can make one concerted thrust through their lines. All we need is the data." The chief of staff paused and sighed. "Otherwise, make sure all of your units are pulled back at least 100 kilometers from Orb by 1700 tomorrow."

"_Sir, does that mean…?"_

"Yes, we'll be activating Omicron. Like I said, get your ships out of there," said the chief of staff.

"_Yes, sir. I'll make sure reports keep coming."_ The connection died with a click.

"Tell me truthfully, General," said Azrael to the chief of staff. "Are they going to break through?"

"There's a slim chance, but its highly unlikely, sir." He gestured at the viewer on the wall, displaying the tactical dispositions to the north of Orb's island chain. "The Orb navy is still numerically inferior to ours, but all of the ZAFT airborne and submersible mobile suits are ripping through any assault forces that come into range. So, no. We're not going to win this engagement."

"Well then, Mr. President," continued Azrael, turning to the head of the conference table. "Have you already prepared the Omicron fleet?"

"No, Azrael." The president sighed. "I'm still a little hesitant about this. I mean, the amount of firepower that would be used… There would be thousands, if not millions of deaths."

"But think about the alternative," replied Azrael. "If Orb allies with ZAFT, and they begin mobile suit production, how many millions of our people do you think are going to die?"

"You're right, Azrael, you're right," said the president. "I know what I have to do, but it's still upsetting."

"That's fine, Mr. President. As long as it gets done." Azrael turned to grin at the tactical display. "I think it's a fittingly ironic gift to Orb and ZAFT for their drop operation."

* * *

As Kira stepped out of the lift, the two ZAFT Greens snapped to attention, holding their rifles at port. He saluted them and continued down the passage. Coming to a stop before a crew quarter's door, he pushed the admittance chime.

"Enter!" came the reply from within. Kira pulled out a key-card and swiped it through the reprogrammed lock. The door whooshed open and Kira stepped inside.

"Hey, kid," said Mu, not getting up from his bunk.

"What is it Kira?" asked Murrue, turning in her chair.

"I just wanted to see how you were. We couldn't really talk yesterday," he replied sheepishly.

"Don't worry about us, kid," said Mu, looking up with a grin. "Your Ms. Clyne made it pretty clear she wants all of us treated well."

"Yes, Kira. We're fine," said Murrue with a smile. "Thank you for your concern though." But she cocked her head, curious, as Kira's expression remained upset. "What is it?"

"It's just… It's… Well, I…" Kira struggled to find words.

"You think you betrayed us?" asked Murrue, gently. Kira just nodded, unable to say anything. "Well, don't you worry about that. You did no such thing. I'll fully admit that the Earth Alliance is in the wrong here. You were doing the same thing that you did when you fought with us: you were protecting your friends and your home."

"But I…" said Kira, his voice catching.

"Look, kid. Nobody blames you. Hell, even Chief Murdoch isn't upset with you," said Mu with a grin.

"Chief Murdoch?" asked Kira, confused by the seeming non sequitur. "Why would he be, especially?"

Murrue and Mu quickly cast concerned looks at each other before turning back to Kira.

"Kira… When you fired on the Gottfrieds, some secondary explosions ripped into the hangar roof. Several of Chief Murdoch's workers were killed and he was injured by falling debris," said Murrue quietly.

"I… killed…" Kira was in complete shock. "But… the Gottfrieds… They're unmanned."

"Yeah. You didn't kill anyone there. It was just unlucky," said Mu quickly. "Just a freak chance in war. It wasn't your fault."

"Kira?" said Murrue, worried at his vacant look.

"Hey, kid. Come on. Sit down," said Mu, pushing him onto Murrue's bunk. Kira just sat, completely quiet, lost in a torrent of emotions and confusion. "Maybe we should get his friend."

"You're right." Murrue turned and picked up a handset from the desk. "This is Lieutenant Ramius. May I speak to Athrun Zala? Yes, it's urgent."

* * *

"So Athrun, where did you rush off to?" asked Nicol. He, Yzak, Dearka, and Lacus were sitting around a table in the Archangel's mess hall. Athrun settled himself heavily into a seat next to his friend and sighed, resting his head in his hands.

"It turns out Kira killed some of his friends from his time on the ship." He looked up with a shrug. "He had a pretty big break down when he found out."

"Oh, dear," said Lacus. "Is there something we can do?"

"No need to help out such a weakling," said Yzak, sneering. "If he can't deal with war, he shouldn't have signed up."

"Shut up Yzak," said Athrun fiercely.

"No, Zala. You've been babying that guy since you captured him," Yzak yelled. "Did you somehow forget that he killed Miguel? That he killed Matthew? He's a traitor to all coordinators! And now he's crying over some stupid naturals he killed!"

"Hey, Yzak, give it a rest," said Dearka, frowning at his friend.

"No, Dearkka! I will not! Zala's been making excuses for his friend the whole time!" Yzak had risen out of his seat.

"Screw you, Yzak!" shouted Athrun, out of his seat now as well. "Kira was pulled into this war against his will, but he's still fought hard to help us against the Earth Forces! Do you wish he was some kind of unfeeling killing machine?"

"I wish he was dead!" screamed Yzak. "I wish that traitor was dead, for what he did to _our_ friends! _Our_ comrades!"

Both Nicol and Dearkka had to grab onto Athrun and Yzak to keep them from fighting. Even still, the two struggled to get at each other, in a rage. Suddenly, Lacus rose to her feet.

"That is enough," she said, quietly but firmly. The two aces stopped struggling to look at her. "I will ask you, Mr. Joule, not to refer to naturals in that way around me. And please calm down, Athrun. Remember, Yzak is your friend and is only upset about the death of your other friends. He doesn't know Mr. Yamato like you do. Alright?"

"Yes," said Athrun, nodding. "Sorry, Lacus. And I'm sorry Yzak. I haven't forgotten what happened to Matthew and Miguel. But I know Kira. I know that he's sorry for it and that he didn't want to do it."

"Whatever," said Yzak, still aloof. Then he shrugged. "I'm sorry Ms. Clyne. I will respect your request. And Zala… Sorry. I can't forgive him for what happened before."

He turned and walked out of the mess hall, Dearkka following him.

"Well," said Lacus, turning to Athrun again. "Shall I visit Mr. Yamato? Will that help at all?"

"Yeah," said Athrun, sighing. "It might. He's basically just curled up in a ball in his quarters." He stopped, his expression darkening. Without notice, he slammed his fist into the table. "He's too kind to be in a war! Dammit!"

"I'll go, Athrun," said Lacus. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You should get some rest. You're very worn out."

Nodding, Athrun, followed by Nicol, left the compartment as well. Lacus paused a moment to gather up their discarded trays before leaving herself. With Mr. Pink programmed with the layout of the captured ship, Lacus didn't get lost on the way to the quarters issued to Kira. Upon arriving, she pressed the admittance key.

"Mr. Yamato? May I come in?" She waited for a moment, but there was no response. Finally, she opened the door herself and went in. Kira was, as Athrun had said, curled into a ball on his bunk.

"Mr. Yamato?" she said. "It's Lacus Clyne. We were introduced briefly before. Athrun told me what happened." Still, he gave no reply. "I don't think your friends would blame you. You didn't know them for very long, but I don't think they'd want you to be like this."

"But…" Kira rolled over suddenly, tear streaks dried on his face. "But I still killed them! And I've killed a lot of others too! At Heliopolis and Orb… I just hadn't realized it until now." His tears started up again. "I'm a murderer!"

Lacus sat down on his bed next to him.

"You're not a murderer," she said, gripping his arm. "This is the nature of war. You were trying to protect your friends, right? Your home and your family?" Kira only sobbed again. "Mr. Yamato… Kira, it's good that you can cry like this." He looked up, surprised. "It means you haven't lost yourself. You aren't like those who can kill without remorse. You're not doing this because you like to kill or fight."

"That doesn't change what I did!" said Kira, defiant.

"No," said Lacus sadly. "War is war. It cannot be changed. People will inevitably die. But if we didn't fight, then all of the ones we cared would die too." She met his eyes and squeezed his hand. "All we can do is what we think is right. And it was right to protect your friends and your home. It was right, Kira." Tears brimming in his eyes again, Lacus leaned forward to embrace him. They sat unspeaking, the only sound being the occasional sob from Kira. After a time, Lacus found that Kira had fallen asleep, though tears still glistened around his eyes. Letting go of him, she settled his head on her lap and leaned back, stroking his hair.

_I've hardly met this boy_, she thought in the dark of the room. _But it feels like I know him so well. I can see how he is Athrun's friend._ She smiled down, sadly, at the sleeping soldier. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the bulkhead at the end of the bed and slowly drifted to sleep herself.

* * *

In low earth orbit, 50_Drake_-class escorts maneuvered. Thrusters flared, pulling the warships into tight formation. Slowly they edged towards each other, occupying a tiny speck of the sky above the planet. Final retroburners fired and the fleet settled into a geosynchronous orbit. As one, they rotated, until all of their bows faced down, towards the distant surface. Now, the strange retrofittings given to the relatively abundant and weak ships were activated. Linear accelerators extended and missile cells lowered. Then, they fired. These linear accelerators were not tied to the low rates of acceleration used when launching manned craft. Instead, the missiles were instantly subjected to nearly 200 G's of acceleration. Each_Drake_ had eight missiles, and all 50 pounded bars of light down into the wide blue ocean below.

* * *

**A/N**: Here you go, a longer chapter and some long awaited KxL. And as I said before, watch out for Yzak in the future. At any rate, I'll try to update more quickly for next time, but no promises. And if any of you question why Kira would get so upset about the deaths of a few random mechanics he didn't even really know, it's more that the incident made him realize what he's been doing the whole time in the Strike. It's far from over for Kira's poor conscience. 


	9. Down the Desert

**Down the Desert**

The Archangel slowly settled alongside the pier, up against jury-rigged fenders. As the personnel hatch opened and Kira stepped out along with the other Reds, he found himself overpowered by the acrid stench of actinic smoke. He gazed in wonder up at the black, glassed hills of the countryside. It had taken a day for the captured assault ship to make its way back to Orb. The captured Earth Forces mechanics had even been released to coax the ship to its maximum speed.

But now that they had arrived, they found a massive search and rescue operation underway by the surviving ZAFT and Orb forces. The targets of the orbital strike had been the three main cities of Orb, and with luck the bulk of the military forces, at sea or refitting at Onogoro Island, were protected from the awesome destructive forces of the weapons. Many of the citizens, too, had found protection in the maze of shelters running deep into the volcanic rock of the island, but a few had still been on the surface, aiding in the aftermath of the Earth Forces attack and more had been trapped when the entrances to their bunkers had bee sealed shut. Even still, the damage was profound: the large and modern cities of Orb had been completely obliterated, rendered a charred mass of lumps and scrap, littering black impact craters.

"Sir!" The five pilots turned to see a Green approaching them quickly. "Are you Athrun Zala of the Le Creuset team?"

"I am," replied Athrun, surprised at being addressed especially out of the group.

"I have orders from Commander Le Creuset. You and your fellows are to use your mobile suits to aid in the rescue efforts under the command of the ZAFT fleet commander."

"Thank you," said Athrun, taking the paper copy of the orders. He turned to the other pilots and shrugged. They quickly jogged back into the Archangel.

* * *

"What are those?" asked the blonde as five strange mobile suits arced over her head.

"Ah, those are the G-Weapons we, erm, liberated from the Earth Alliance," said the ZAFT fleet commander. "But shall we get back to what we were discussing?"

"Yes, of course," she replied, turning to sit at the table beneath the awning. The various officers also standing waited until she settled to sit. "Well then, I suppose you'll want use of the Kaguya mass driver?"

The commander raised his eyebrows, surprised out how direct the new leader of Orb was being.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just… your father was a little more subtle, Representative Athha."

"Well, we hardly have time for political games, do we?" said Cagalli Yula Athha, flicking at the gold braid on her tunic shoulder.

"Right… Well, yes, it would be very helpful in recovery operations and in withdrawing from the area."

"If that's part of your requirements, then that's fine," said Cagalli, shrugging.

"Oh, no, Ms. Representative. We're not putting any demands on our offer of aid," said the commander hurriedly. "It would just be helpful. The transport ships will be here in a day anyways, whatever you may decide. This is as much an action by the Oceanic Union as ZAFT or PLANT."

"Fine, fine," said Cagalli.

"Will you be waiting here for some time, or will you go with the transport ships?"

"The government will join the transport ships for the time being, before returning to organize reconstruction." She paused and looked directly into the older officer's eyes. "But I need to go into space. There are… things of Orb that I need to secure." The officer flinched at the cold hatred in her eyes. "And we have unfinished business with the Earth Alliance."

* * *

"_What's that?"_ asked Nicol as they flew over the VIP delegation on the ground, indicated by the amount of gold braid dangling from the shoulders of the assembled officers.

_"That's the fleet commander… and I don't recognize that girl_," said Athrun, frowning at the zoomed-in portion of his view screen.

"I've met her before… on Orb right before the incident," said Kira also examining his screen.

"_That's Cagalli Yula Athha,"_ said Yzak scornfully. "_Didn't any of you bother to read the political brief before the operation started? Hmph. I guess not. Her father, Uzumi Nara Athha, was the former Representative of Orb. He died along with most of the old government during the bombardment. They refused to leave for some stupid reason."_

"So is she the new Representative?" asked Kira.

"_Probably, but who cares; we have a mission, in case you'd forgotten,"_ replied Yzak.

Dearka, flying point in the Buster, lowered the Guul to the ground where indicated by a ZAFT Search and Rescue Team, his fellows landing beside him.

_"Mobile suits, this is Alne Riebert of the Galway Team. We need you to excavate ahead where we began the excavation. There's a 5000 person shelter behind there."_

"_Roger that. Get your people out of the way,"_ replied Athrun. The five mobile suits drew beam swords and set about the task of carving and carting away solid rock. The extreme heat from the kinetic energy of the Earth Force's orbital bombardment had caused a lot of rock to melt, and nearly 20 meters of it covered the shelter's entrance. But the mobile suits were more than up to the task, and soon they were backed off to let technicians activate the manual override on the large hatch.

Whatever doubts Kira may have had about piloting the Strike again after his discoveries on the Archangel were soothed as he watched the thousands of people he had helped save stream out of the mountainside. He smiled, momentarily forgetting the killings he had been carrying on his conscience for the past two days.

"_Alright, we have another team that needs help to the north,"_ radioed Athrun. "_Let's go_." The mobile suits bounded back to the Guul fliers and soared off.

* * *

_"Reds to the bridge. Reds to the bridge._" Kira snapped out of his light sleep and threw on his uniform tunic. They had just returned to the Archangel after 10 hours of rescue operations and all of the pilots were exhausted, but they nonetheless were all present on the bridge five minutes later.

"Commander Le Creuset?" said Athrun in surprise as he exited the lift next to Kira.

"Athrun. Mr. Yamato. You have done very well," replied the commander. He looked around at the bridge. "This is quite an amazing ship, don't you think? Finally capturing it was very well done."

"Thank you, sir," said Yzak, who had arrived with Dearka and Nicol ahead of Kira.

"Might we ask what you are doing here, sir?" said Nicol.

"You may," replied Le Creuset with a grin. "I am here to escort Ms. Clyne back to the PLANTs. You, as her rescuers, will accompany me as well. You will need to have your mobile suits ready to leave this ship in thirty minutes. There is a heavy cargo shuttle waiting for us at the Kaguya driver to take us into orbit, where we'll meet the _Vesalius_." He cocked his head and looked around at them from behind his mask. "That is all." As one the pilots saluted and turned to exit the bridge. "Mr. Yamato." Kira turned. "Should you wish it, please feel free to bid goodbye to the captive Earth Alliance officers you knew. They and this ship will eventually make it to PLANT as well, but not for quite some time." Kira nodded, saluted again, and left the bridge.

* * *

"Ms. Clyne. Ms. Clyne."

Lacus murmured in her sleep, rolling over in her bunk.

"Ms. Clyne, please wake up."

All at once, she sat up, looking around.

"Ms. Clyne, we'll be arriving at the ZAFT Military Station in one hour."

Blinking sleep out of her eyes, Lacus was finally able to focus on the speaker.

"Oh, thank you Mr. Yamato," she said to the brunette. "Please tell Commander Le Creuset I'll join him in ten minutes."

"Of course." Lacus watched the young man nod and turn, leaving her borrowed quarters on the _Vesalius_. But just before the door, he stopped and his head drooped.

"Ms. Clyne… I wanted to thank you for before… for when… on the Archangel," he said, without turning. "I was… you were… well, thank you."

"You are very welcome, Mr. Yamato," Lacus said, smiling at his back. "I hope you are feeling better now." The young man nodded slightly. "Well, you'll have to stay with Athrun at my father's estate when you have leave," she said happily. "Any friend of Athrun's is a friend of mine."

"Thank you," said Kira, turning to give her a small smile.

As he left and the door finally slid shut, Lacus arched her back, stretching as she stood up and walked toward the small bathroom attached to her quarters. Quickly dressing and brushing her hair, Lacus left her room and made her way to the bridge. Having had three days to learn the layout of the warship, she only took one false turn before finding the bridge.

"Commander Le Creuset, we will be arriving soon?" she asked of the tall blonde sitting in his command chair ahead of her. She felt a faint chill ripple down her spine as he turned to look at her. _Steady, Lacus,_ she thought to herself. _He's done nothing wrong… yet._

"Imminently." His smooth tone almost made her shudder again. As much as she appreciated being rescued, having to spend three days around this man was not something she liked. He had been perfectly attentive and polite, but there was something about him, something she could not put her finger on, that disturbed Lacus. Shaking off such thoughts, she smiled at him.

"Will we be taking a shuttle from there?" she asked.

"Yes. You and Mr. Zala will leave as soon as we dock. But I and the other pilots will join you on Aprilius One as soon as the ship is secured," he said.

Still smiling, Lacus moved forward to look at the main view screen, which was displaying the star field ahead of them, dotted with the much larger shapes of the PLANTs ahead.

"This view is almost worth protecting by itself, isn't it?" asked Le Creuset, with an almost-smirk.

"I'm afraid I don't think any mere view is worth war, Commander," said Lacus. She quickly hid a grimace, reprimanding herself for her momentary lapse of manners.

"Of course, Ms. Clyne. You are correct," said Le Creuset, the smirk now writ large on his face hidden from her view behind her back.

Lacus continued to silently watch the colonies growing slowly larger for several minutes. _It is a very comforting sight,_ she admitted silently. But then she thought of Kira and what she had heard of the destruction of Heliopolis. _This is certainly not worth war by itself._ She continued to think of Kira, until the lift door to the bridge whooshed open.

"Ah. Here is your escort, Ms. Clyne," said Le Creuset. "If you'll gather your things, we will be docking within 30 minutes."

She nodded her understanding to him and entered the lift. As the doors closed in front of her, she momentarily found herself wishing that it was Kira, and not Athrun, that was beside her. _He's your fiancé, Lacus,_ she scolded herself. _Why are you so obsessed with that young man anyways?_ Not being able to answer herself, her interest as uninformed by actual knowledge as her dislike of Le Creuset, she tried to banish such thoughts from her mind for the time being.

* * *

"We'll see you at the barracks later, right?" asked Nicol.

"Yeah," said Kira, nodding at the friendly younger boy. Dearka nodded at Kira as well and took off after Yzak, who was already making his way out of the arrivals lobby.

"Alright then. See ya." Nicol ran off too, catching up with the others, as Kira set off in the opposite direction. While the other pilots would be taking the high-speed elevators to the Transient Officer's Quarters of one of the ZAFT installations on one side of Aprilius One, Kira would be heading to the other side to meet Athrun… and Lacus. _Ms. Clyne,_ he thought. _She's Ms. Clyne to you. You've spoken to her for all of thirty minutes, and that while you were having a break down. And she's your best friend's fiancée_. Sighing, he tugged at the high collar of his Red uniform and entered the queue for the elevators.

The large, glass walled elevator car was empty of all but him and a middle-aged women with two girls, both apparently just a few years younger than him.

"How are you young man?" she asked, smiling. "On leave?"

"Yes," he said, surprised at her politeness.

"My husband's the logistics officer for the Galway Team. What team are you with?" she said.

"The Le Creuset Team," replied Kira. "We worked with the Galway Team briefly on Earth."

"No way!" said the elder of the two girls in surprise.

"Really," said Kira, taken aback by her vehemence. "They were working on rescue operations in Orb."

"No, no. I mean, you can't be a part of the Le Creuset Team!" said the girl. "You're not Nicol Amalfi, and you're certainly not Athrun Zala, Dearka Elsman, or Yzak Joule!"

"Umm… I know?" said Kira, a little unsure about the girl's forcefulness.

"Lunamaria!" said the older women sternly. She smiled up at Kira and extended her hand. "I'm sorry. I'm Eliza Hawke and these are my daughters, Lunamaria and Meyrin. I'm afraid Lunamaria gets a little excited about these things."

"But Lunamaria's right," said the other girl. "There are only four pilots in the Le Creuset Team."

"Yeah, the other ones died at Heliopolis." Kira's expression fell upon hearing those words, but Lunamaria didn't notice and continued. "They just released the information yesterday, so you have to be lying."

"Lunamaria, that is enough!" said her mother. "I'm very sorry, Mr…"

"Yamato. Kira Yamato." Kira tried to clear his expression of pain to smile back at her, but couldn't. "I'm… I'm a new member of the Le Creuset Team. And I… I know all about the deaths of the other pilots."

"Lunamaria, apologize to Mr. Yamato right now," said her mother. "You've clearly upset him about his friends!"

"It's nothing. I didn't really know them," said Kira, with a weak smile.

"But there really are only four pilots!" insisted the girl. "Which mobile suit do you claim to pilot?"

"I… I pilot the GAT-X105 Strike," said Kira. _Forget about it. She's just a young girl. She's not blaming you for their deaths._

"See!" cried Lunamaria triumphantly. "The Strike was the mobile suit that they couldn't capture!" She glared at Kira accusingly while Meyrin nodded her head in assent.

"That's right, until Athrun captured me… I mean, it," Kira said, dejectedly.

"That's enough, girls," said Mrs. Hawke, noticing Kira's expressions. "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Yamato. The information we receive is usually old. It has to be declassified, so as far as the general public knows, the girls are right. But I'm sorry for their rudeness. You obviously are hurting and they should no better than to act like they are," she said, glaring at the girls.

The elevator slowed and stopped and the four passengers exited in awkward silence.

"Well, Mr. Yamato, it was nice meeting you," said Eliza.

"And you, ma'am," replied Kira.

"Kira!" The call interrupted Lunamaria, who was just opening her mouth with another comment. Athrun was walking up, dressed in civilian clothing. "Are these all of your bags? You know you'll be at the Clyne's with me the whole time, right?" he asked, gesturing at Kira's belongings.

"Yeah, that's it." Noticing Athrun's curious look toward the Hawke's, Kira spoke up. "We were just talking in the elevator. Her husband is the logistics officer of the Galway Team."

"Galway Team, Galway Team…" said Athrun pondering. "Oh, yes!" He extended his hand with a friendly smile. "Athrun Zala. Please tell your husband we appreciated his team's work during recovery operations." Not noticing the shocked expressions on the girls' faces, he turned. "Kira we've got to go, we'll be late."

* * *

Walking across the wide lawn of the Clyne estate, Athrun sighed. He had watched Kira in the car with his peripheral vision since they had left the central shaft, and his friend had sat blankly staring the entire time.

"Kira, what is it?"

Kira turned and looked at Athrun, a puzzled look on his face.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean," Athrun said, sighing again, "Why do you look like someone just killed your puppy?"

"Oh." Kira was silent for a moment, a brooding look on his face. "It's just that… one of the girls in the elevator… She said that the information on the Battle of Heliopolis was just released. She thought I was lying when I was said in the Le Creuset Team, because the report said that there were only four pilots in the team… after the others were killed."

Athrun nodded, understanding now.

"Kira, I'm sorry but I talked to Lacus and your Captain Ramius after what happened on the Archangel." He shrugged. "It sounds like everyone understands. They're not blaming you for any of those things that happened. I mean, Yzak is the only one still holding Miguel's death against you."

"But being forgiven for the deaths of two or three or even twenty people doesn't matter!" insisted Kira. "It made me realize how many people I have killed. I can't even imagine how many died in those ships we destroyed at Orb, Athrun. How many lives we ended. And it was unnecessary."

"No, Kira, it was necessary. They would have killed everyone in Orb," said Athrun.

"But we didn't need to kill them instead," replied Kira. "We could have disabled the ships, destroyed their communications equipment."

"This is war! Kira, they would have killed you in a second if they had the chance. When it gets down to it, it's kill or be killed," Athrun said heatedly.

"It sounds to me as if you don't want to be in ZAFT anymore."

The two friends turned and found Lacus and an older man approaching them.

"Mr. Yamato, I would like you to meet my father, Siegel Clyne," said Lacus.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," said Kira, taking Siegel's extended hand.

"And you young man," he replied. "I've heard a lot about you. First, the young Coordinator in the Strike. Then your exploits with your fellows at Orb. And now from my daughter, about her rescuers."

"It wasn't…" began Kira.

"I'm afraid, as her father, I'm going to have to disagree that her rescue was 'nothing,'" said Siegel with a smile.

"But father, could you have Kira, I mean Mr. Yamato discharged from ZAFT?" asked Lacus, blushing a bit at her slip-up.

"I would, if that is what you wished, Mr. Yamato." Rubbing his temples, he sighed. "But I'm afraid I don't have that power anymore. Athrun, soon enough, by tomorrow probably, your father will become Chairman."

"What?" asked Athrun, floored.

"It's traditional that the Chairman pass on his seat when he is opposed in a measure by nine or more Council members," he said calmly. "Oh, I could retain my position, but your father could introduce a motion of no-confidence and force a vote throughout the PLANTs, but I won't let something like that happen, especially in a time of war. No. By tomorrow your father will be the Chairman." He turned to Kira with a sad smile. "And that means I don't really have any power anymore, especially not enough to allow a talented pilot to be discharged at a time like this."

"I understand, sir," said Kira.

"But let's discuss this later," said Lacus. "Dinner will be served soon, so Athrun, please show Mr. Yamato his rooms."

The group walked slowly up to the large house.

* * *

**A/N**: Lunamaria and Meyrin will be actual characters once we get to the Destiny timeline portion of the story. The elevator exchange was to show two things, hopefully: that the Le Creuset Team is pretty famous, both for having Le Creuset and the sons of four council members as pilots, and that information about these things is released to the general public of PLANT. This is supposed to become a bigger issue later, but of course I may change my mind. As is, this is a bit of foreshadowing. I hope this was somewhat evident from the writing, but I'm a little insecure about how well I'm writing. A small taste of KxL in this chapter; more to come. I haven't said this before, but I do really appreciate all of you who have commented on the course of the story. As I say on my profile page, I've been writing fan fiction and original fiction for a while for personal enjoyment, but I decided to start publishing things here to get some feedback. It's really gratifying to hear some of the things you've said. And I'm not just looking for "Good work. More soon, please." I am completely, 100 open to criticism: if I make a Mary Sue, call me on it; if I make someone wickedly OOC (i.e. beyond the bounds of possible character development), call me on it; if I'm just doing a really shitty job of writing, well, tell me that too. And feel free to speculate/suggest where the story is/should be going. At any rate, thanks again to you all. 


	10. Down the Railway

**Down the Railway**

Lacus awoke with a smile. Though she knew there was a war on, she felt at peace, for the first time in a great while. It was her fourteenth day back, her fourteenth day spent in the company of Athrun and Kira in her father's estate. Though overjoyed at her rescue, Siegel had been unable to spend much time with her. As he had predicted, Patrick Zala had become the new chairman and the Supreme Council was chaotic at the moment, dealing with the ramifications of the change.

But none of that concerned Lacus at just this moment. A sliver of light slipped past the curtains drawn across the large bay windows of her room. Pulling her covers down, she turned her body and let her feet dangle off the side of her bed for a moment. Stretching, she stood and walked forward to open the curtains. The reflected light from the PLANT's mirrors was mimicking dawn on earth. The warm oranges and yellows flowed over the vast lake surrounding the central landform of the PLANT. Lacus smiled, the sight bringing her great joy.

_This is a view worth protecting,_ she thought.

"Ms. Clyne?"

"Yes?" replied Lacus, turning to the door. It creaked open and a maid entered.

"Mr. Clyne had to leave early again this morning. He wanted me to tell you that he won't be back for dinner tonight either," said the maid. "Would you like me to have breakfast prepared now and to wake the guests?"

"Yes, please," said Lacus. "Actually, let Mr. Yamato sleep, but wake Mr. Zala. He has a meeting later this morning. Just make sure there's something for Mr. Yamato when he wakes up."

"Of course," said the maid. "Will you eat with Mr. Zala?"

"I think I will." Lacus grinned and turned back to the window as the maid retreated back out of the room. Sighing, Lacus entered her large walk-in closet. After a moment's deliberation, she slipped into a light blue summer dress and entered the bathroom to complete her daily ablutions. Soon, she strode out, cast one last look out at the brightening day, and left her room. She hummed cheerfully to herself as she made her way down the length of the house, running a finger lightly over the banister as she walked down the large, mahogany staircase in the main entrance hall. Exiting out onto the large lawn below her windows, Lacus settled herself into a wooden chair on a patio.

"Morning, L-Lacus," said Athrun with a yawn. She turned to find him stretching, his ZAFT Red uniform tunic not yet fastened over his light-blue undershirt.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully.

"Ugh, how are you already so awake?" he asked.

Lacus's smile slipped.

_No! No, don't think about it! Deal with it later!_

"Lacus?" She quickly turned and smiled again at Athrun. He looked at her with concern for a moment, and then shrugged, turning to pick up the teacup just set down on the table before them.

"So, what are you meeting about today?" asked Lacus, also taking her teacup.

"I'm not sure yet, but rumor has it that the Le Creuset Team is going to get a bit of a shake up." Athrun paused to munch on a scone. "I'll be meeting with Commander Le Creuset and some other commander's on a variety of subjects, I suppose."

"That sounds very interesting," said Lacus.

"Liar," said Athrun, pausing again, this time to yawn. "It's going to be deathly boring." He sighed. "I wish we could stay here, like this, forever. Kira, you, me… Whenever I go back out there, whenever I seal up this uniform, I change. I can feel it come over me. I'm colder, more distant."

"I had noticed, on the _Vesalius_," agreed Lacus. "I thought at the time that you were trying to be more militant, to be a leader."

"That's it in part," he said with a shrug. "I hadn't really noticed it before. Not until I ran into Kira again. He's just so innocent. He's infuriatingly naïve at times, too. But I envy his simplicity."

"I think you're wrong," said Lacus, suddenly. Athrun looked up at her with surprise. "I don't think he's innocent, or naïve, or simple. He's just new to war. He didn't realize what he was doing, in all of those fights, but think about it, Athrun. It's been less than three months since Heliopolis, since he was introduced to war. You spent much longer than that just in the academy, before you even became a real soldier. And he doesn't view himself as innocent at all. He thinks he's a terrible human being."

"Are we, Lacus?" Athrun said. "Are we terrible human beings? He's right, really. We've killed so many people we don't need to. And I didn't even notice. I didn't care. I destroyed so many lives so casually."

"I think… I think you are human beings," said Lacus. "I don't think you are any better or worse than those you killed. I don't like it; I even hate it, hate you, hate all soldiers and killers. But I think it's because I'm scared, Athrun. I think I'm scared that I'm like that, too. That I could kill and destroy. But… I think it's necessary. I don't want war, but there are people, Natural and Coordinator alike, that would spread that destruction. I don't think all of them are bad, either, per se. But they are wrong, and misguided."

"So we should kill them?" said Athrun scornfully.

"No," replied Lacus, frowning. "But the conundrum is, what happens when there is no other choice? Would you let that person kill you, kill your friends, kill your family? Because there you have to make a choice: which human lives do you value more?"

"I… I don't know," said Athrun sadly. "And I've already made that decision a hundred times over, without realizing it." He looked up, and Lacus felt her heart twist at the horrid look on his face. "What should I do?"

"I can't tell you." She met his gaze, eye for eye, as he nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't burden you with that. It's just that I'm worried. I think that I have to fight. That I have to be out there, so that when there's the chance to stop all of this, I can take it. I can stop those that would continue the war by ending it." He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "But what of Kira?"

"What?" asked Lacus. Unbidden, an image of the young man flitted across her mind's eye and she flushed just a tiny bit.

"You like him, don't you?" asked Athrun, with sudden perception. He grinned as Lacus failed to form any words. "It's okay. I know we're engaged, and I do love you, but not…"

Lacus nodded, still blushing somewhat, and they both turned to look out into the distance. Silence filled the air; the words unsaid were not needed.

"You shouldn't be late to your meeting," said Lacus after a time.

"You're right," said Athrun, standing. "I shouldn't."

Lacus watched Athrun's retreating back with a sad smile.

_Not now, Lacus. Later, when the dawn isn't still so beautiful_, she thought. She settled back in her chair and sat peacefully in the sunlight.

"Good morning, Lacus."

Lacus gasped and turned about quickly. Kira had just walked up, wearing, like Athrun, an unsealed ZAFT Red uniform. The brunette appeared to be in much better shape this morning. He smiled and sat down in Athrun's vacated spot, grabbing a scone.

"Dear me, Kira. Sneak up on me like that much more and you'll scare me to death."

"Sorry," replied Kira with a grin.

Lacus turned back away from Kira, hiding her blush. She was embarrassed, both by the end of the conversation with Athrun and that she had been so lost in thought as to not notice her guest at all.

"What shall we do today?" she asked without turning.

"Hmm… Aren't you supposed to be preparing for a show?"

"Yes, but that will only take a few hours later this morning," said Lacus. This would be her first performance since she had left with the Junius Seven memorial committee, and the theater was already sold out. "This afternoon I'd like to do something different."

"Sailing," said Kira through a mouthful of scone. "Let's see if Athrun wants to go after he gets back from his meeting."

Lacus finally turned to face the table again and gave Kira a warm smile.

"Let's."

* * *

"What is it Athrun?" asked Kira, worriedly. He and Lacus had been out on the water in a twenty-two foot sailboat when Athrun had called, saying it was urgent. They had been looking forward to Athrun joining them, as the scheduled weather of the PLANT had fortunately leant them 20 kph winds to the fill their sails. Kira had some little experience in sailing from his time on Earth, in Orb, and Lacus had been out a few times before. Athrun's greater experience had been something they were counting on. But when the call came they had managed to quickly turn the boat around and headed back for shore. Now, on land, they had reached Athrun, standing dejectedly in his crisp Red uniform on the lawn. Kira looked up with a smile, hoping to cheer his friend up, whatever the cause of his sadness.

"Kira…" he began, but the words died in his throat. He looked up and Kira nearly gasped at the pained look in his friends eyes.

"Athrun, are you okay?"

"Kira, I'm so sorry…" Kira's heart began to race as Athrun finally spoke. Lacus looked over at him with concern. "I… At the meeting, they announced the new policy… In the name of justice for the atrocities of Junius Seven and the bombardment of Orb… ZAFT is going to try and execute all of the Earth Forces officers they have in custody."

Kira stepped back, in shock.

_Mu. Murrue. It's my fault. First the mechanics, now them._

"Kira, it's not your fault," said Lacus, coming over to take his arm. "Here, sit down."

"Kira, I'm so sorry. I tried to ask about the policy, but the trials are already getting underway." Athrun ran a hand through his hair, clearly distressed. "How are we any better than them now?"

But Kira just sat, not reacting in the slightest. Before, when he had realized the number of deaths on his hands for the first time, he had been paralyzed with guilt. Now, his brain was going into overdrive.

_It's my fault, so I have to do something. I have to save Murrue and Mu and Ensign Badgiruel and all of the others. I have to._

"Kira? Kira? Are you alright?"

He looked up to find Lacus staring at his face.

"I'm okay, Lacus, thank you." He sighed. "I'm sorry, it was just a little shocking." Seeing that she was still not satisfied, he forced a weak smile. "Really, I'm much better than before." Turning to look out at the water, his face became grim. "Then, I knew it was my fault, but there was nothing I could do about it. It killed me inside. And it's my fault now, too. Athrun," he said, turning to face his friend, "I can't stay here." Athrun nodded understanding.

"Yeah, I would expect that," he said, kicking at the grass. "I wish I could leave too, but… I can't yet. There are still things I need to do. And I have to protect the PLANTs."

"But maybe you could…" began Lacus. Kira quieted her, resting a hand lightly on her arm. He didn't notice her faint blushing.

"No. He has to stay," he said, smiling up at his friend. "Will we have to be enemies this time?"

"Never," said Athrun. "I can't in good faith stay here and let you go, but we'll never be enemies ever again. I promise. Kira… good luck. Let's meet again, soon." He gripped his friend's hand for a moment, gave Lacus a quick hug, and walked off to the house.

Kira sighed and closed his eyes, calming himself for a moment.

_How can I possibly do it? I have to, but how can I?_ he thought, bitterly.

"It's a terrible thing, isn't it?"

Kira opened his eyes and found that Siegel had just arrived.

"Mr. Clyne, what should I do?" he asked.

"I think you already know what you want to do," said the older man with a shrug, sitting down in one of the chairs, gladly accepting a teacup from his daughter. "And the thing is, with things the way they are, I'm inclined to agree with you."

"What do you mean, father?" asked Lacus, surprised that her father, the great statesman, might ever say something remotely treasonous.

"I mean, ever since Patrick Zala has become chairman, the rhetoric against the Naturals has been greatly increased," he said. "It's been a mere two weeks and already polls are showing that the popular is more aggressive and in favor of war. And now he's stooping to this…" His voice trailed off sadly. Then, he looked up at Kira with fire in his eyes. "If you really want to do this, young man, we just might be able to help you. When I heard the announcement, all I could do was leave the council chambers. Let me do something, through you."

Kira paused a moment, his eyes tracking from daughter to father to daughter again. He nodded.

* * *

**A/N**: Double update. Comments under the next chapter. 


	11. Down the River

**Down the River**

Smiling at Lacus as the hatch closed, Kira inspected the cockpit he was now sitting in. Built from the ground up as a ZAFT mobile suit, the layout was somewhat different from the Strike's. But soon enough he had familiarized himself and had confidently started up the spin-up cycle, powering up systems and testing auxiliaries.

"_You understand everything, Mr. Yamato?"_ came Siegel's voice over the radio.

"Yes, sir. I do," Kira said.

"_Make sure you remain on schedule. My supporters will be able to bring this off, but only at the designated time. We only have the one shot."_

"I understand, sir. I'll follow through," said Kira grimly.

"_Are you going to be alright, Mr. Yamato?"_ This time, it was Lacus's voice that carried through his helmet speakers. _"I mean, flying a mobile suit and everything…"_

"Yes. Thanks to you and Athrun, I'll be okay. I know what I have to do this time." He paused and sighed. "And it's about time you started calling me Kira. I just want to thank you again for everything you've done. And I hope you'll be safe, staying here."

_"I'll, be fine… Kira. And you have to call me Lacus."_ The radio was silent for a moment. "_Be careful. I want the three of us to meet again like that._"

"I promise you, Lacus. It'll be okay." He broke off as the final green light appeared on his status board. "Okay, I'm ready to go. You can inform your people, Mr. Clyne."

"_Understood,"_ came Siegel's gruff voice. "_And Mr. Yamato, there's one other thing I think you should know. The name of the mobile suit is rather fitting: it's called the _Freedom."

"Understood, sir. Good luck." He activated the main power conduits. "Goodbye, Lacus."

Pushing the throttle open and stepping down on the thruster pedals, Kira activated the main engines. The Freedom leapt into the air and soared up the long entrance shaft.

* * *

Murrue grimaced at the tiny mirror again.

"I don't know why you're bothering," came Mu's sardonic commentary from one of the bunks. "It's obvious these are just show trials. They wont be impressed by a clean uniform."

"Well I, for one, think that if I have to go, I might as well look my best." Murrue made a haughty face to herself in the mirror. But then her calm cracked and a sob tore out of her throat. She descended into tears and crumpled to the floor. She didn't stop, even when she felt Mu's arms surrounding her in a comforting embrace.

"Hey, it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong," he said, softly into her ear.

"B-but, I let us get captured! You, Natarle, the others… They'll die because of me!" gasped Murrue through her tears.

"It's not your fault. It's those ZAFT sons of bitches. This is flying in the face of all of the laws of war. It's not your fault, though, Murrue," said Mu. She simply broke down into more tears.

"I'm just afraid to die!" she cried. "I'm a soldier and I'm afraid to die!"

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Murrue. I'm here." She turned to look up into his face, sniffling. He smiled and brushed a piece of her hair from her forehead. "All things come to an end. I'm just glad I met you first."

"But, but…" she insisted, half-heartedly now.

"No buts, Captain Ramius. You did well; you did perfectly. I've never served under a better captain." He looked into her eyes. "I've never served with a better woman. Really, Murrue, I'm glad I met you."

They sat in silence for a moment, staring into each other's eyes. Then they leaned into an embrace again. Murrue was calmed by his touch and managed to dry her tears. Mu by her side, she was even able to stand by herself when the ZAFT guard came to take them to the trial.

The large amphitheater had been hastily turned into a courtroom following the announcement from the Supreme Council. Murrue, Mu, and the other officers of the Archangel would be among the first tried, for no other reason than being at the top of the bureaucratic lists. Murrue forced herself to remain calm as she was led into the defendant's box. Nearly the entire surviving crew of the Archangel had been assembled there, either as co-defendants, or subordinate enlistedmen, present to learn what happened to those who defied ZAFT. Murrue felt that she owed that group the most; the others would have already dealt with their fate, but those relegated to watching would need to see her strong and brave to the end, in order to carry on themselves.

But even as she kept a calm exterior, her heart trembled as the bored military judge read the opening statements.

"This now commences the case of the people of PLANT against the Atlantic Federation officers of the ship known as the Archangel for their part in various heinous crimes against…" His voice was cut off by the shrill sounding of claxons throughout the military complex.

"Is this some kind of cruel joke?" muttered Mu at her shoulder.

"I don't think so," said Murrue, watching the ZAFT guards scurry about, clearly anxious and confused.

"_Warning! Unidentified mobile suit approaching rapidly! All available units secure for anti-mobile suit combat!"_ Murrue gave Mu a meaningful look as the announcement blared from the PA and some of the guards rushed out of the building. Sighing, Mu plopped back onto his chair, lounging. But all of a sudden, a group of the remaining guards aimed their weapons and dispatched the other guards. One ran forward and, pushing the stunned judge out of the way, spoke into the microphone.

"Attention, Earth Forces personnel. We are members of ZAFT who believe these trials are categorically wrong. The warning just made concerns an allied mobile suit currently providing support for us to escape. Please trust us and move quickly! We'll bring you to the Archangel."

A shout of confusion went up amongst the prisoners. Rising, Murrue made her way down to the guard who had just finished speaking, Mu at her side still.

"I'm Lieutenant Ramius," she said, introducing herself.

"Ah, Captain Ramius," said the guard. "I'm Martin DaCosta. We'll need to move quickly. We're close to the Archangel's port, but we'll need you to get your people to move quickly."

Murrue nodded in understanding and set about organizing the still confused freed prisoners. But within a moment, they were much more regimented and Murrue led the first group behind DaCosta. They exited the building at a sprint, making for a refitting shaft entrance a hundred meters away. Just as they neared the entrance, a mobile suit tore into view.

"Is that the Strike?" asked Murrue and Mu at the same time. The mobile suit did look remarkably familiar, but for the coloring. But then, it spread its wings and soared off again, pursued by a pack of DINNs. Murrue and Mu shared astonished looks.

"It looks like the Strike," said Murrue.

"And it moves just like Kira did," finished Mu.

"Kira Yamato?" asked DaCosta, pausing beside them. "Yeah, he's the ZAFT Red who's piloting that. He was with the Le Creuset Team. Pretty famous, if even you Earth guys have heard of him."

Murrue and Mu just shook their heads and started running again.

* * *

Kira was pleased. The plan had been executed perfectly so far. The Freedom had let him make short work of the alert GINNs and DINNs that had sortied as soon as he had begun his attack run. With his dedication to his friends pushing him, he managed his fears and brought himself to pull the trigger. But he had kept the promise to himself: he wasn't going to kill without need anymore. Every shot he took was to disable, not to destroy. Arms, legs, heads, weapons, all were fair game in bringing the ZAFT mobile suits down, but he always avoided hitting cockpits. When dealing with ground-based anti-aircraft weapons, he had also avoided just blowing them away. Instead, using the HiMAT mode of the Freedom, he would sweep in low, just off the ground, and slice off the offending gun barrel with one of his beam sabers.

76mm rounds impacted the squat building Kira was hovering next to, in wait for his next target. He threw the Freedom into a roll, its back to the ground. Pushing the throttle open, he flew under the incoming DINN and blasted its right wing off. It spiraled toward the ground, in control, but no longer flight capable. Kira was suitably amazed by the capabilities of the new mobile suit he was piloting. Not having to worry about running out of power, its maneuverability and speed, everything was a pilot's dream come true. Even the weapons appeared to be unbelievably powerful, but he had kept himself from using the plasma and rail guns for now.

"_Freedom, this is the _Archangel_. Come in Freedom_." The sudden transmission over the encrypted radio frequency startled him.

"This is the Freedom; go ahead."

"_Kira, this is Captain Ramius_." Kira smiled hugely to himself, dodging a flight of missiles, upon hearing that name. "_We're ready to leave port. All of the crew and friendly ZAFT personnel are aboard. We'll need your cover._"

"Understood. I'm moving towards an exit shaft." He finished off the latest attacker and broke hard to the left, heading into the midst of the military base. Finding his destination, a large hatch in the ground, Kira sent the still recognized activation commands from the Freedom and opened the entrance to the shaft. He sped into it, sending the close command as well, cruising at maximum speed towards the airlock. It too responded to the signals from the mobile suit and then, once again, he was in open space. The lights of quickly approaching ZAFT warships and Combat Space Patrols shown bright, alerted by the desperate calls from the internal security forces. Kira arced around the bottom of the PLANT. Soon enough, he came upon an even larger airlock hatch, just beginning to crack open. A moment later, it had fully retracted and the stark white of the Archangel left the shadows of the docking bay at high speed.

"Head to the agreed rendezvous point at maximum speed," said Kira, turning the Freedom to meet the oncoming enemies. "I'll meet you there."

"_You'd better. Good luck. Archangel out."_

Grinning at his success, Kira spurred his mobile suit forward. Finally giving in, he activated the heavy weapons. The plasma guns flipped out of the wings and over the shoulders of the Freedom while the rail guns extended from the waste. Watching the targeting solutions settle in his range finder, he rested his finger on the trigger. In a burst of weaponry, the approaching GINNs were left without weapons and limbs. His lurking discomfort of piloting a war machine again finally driven away, Kira plunged headlong into the fray.

* * *

Athrun sat in shock, watching the combat footage from the ZAFT reaction forces that had engaged Kira alongside a handful of other pilots and commanders. Athrun had seen the raw talent of his friend and how he had, with no training, bested experienced pilots, but nothing indicated this level of skill. The prototype mobile suit seemed to spin like a top as it blasted mobile suit after mobile suit, each shot precisely targeting hard-to-hit limbs and heads. Even warships fell prey to its speed, as Kira would take the Freedom in high-speed maneuvers around them, disabling their engines. As the footage showed the last of the ZAFT reaction forces falling disabled before the Freedom, Patrick Zala stood and turned off the display.

"This is unacceptable. Letting such a powerful unit be taken by traitors, prisoners escaping and taking back their ship… I will not stand for this!" He slammed his fist on his desk. "As soon as we are able, we will send a hunter-killer team to track them down! I have had Commander Waltfeld brought up from Earth to command it," he said, indicating a seated officer. "I have given him strict instructions: the Freedom and the Archangel must be taken or destroyed with no exceptions. If the naturals get them back, we will face more deaths of our people at their hands. Athrun," He turned towards his son. "You will pilot the ZGMF-X09A Justice under Commander Waltfeld. The rest of the Le Creuset Team will transfer to the Waltfeld Team as well. I want results."

"But…" Athrun began. "What of the Le Creuset Team?" he finished lamely, stifling his objections toward hunting Kira.

"Commander Le Creuset has a new mission," replied Patrick, coldly. "As much as I am angered by the treachery of your so-called friend, he is nothing compared to the arch-traitors we have let into our midst for so long." Athrun watched his father's face with slowly comprehending horror. "Commander Le Creuset will seek out and execute Siegel and Lacus Clyne for high treason."

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, it should be obvious, but I posted two chapters at once. I decided part way through that it works better as two; otherwise I would have posted the first before now. We'll be getting back to the fighting soon and Kira and Lacus won't be kept apart for too long. Also, to quell any fears of me dropping stuff, Kira's problems and more importantly the problems Lacus has, which have only been alluded to so far, will certainly resurface. To respond to a comment, this story will encompass Destiny, so Shinn will be making an appearance, though not for a while. And he will not be the asshole-ish Shinn we know and love (By love, I mean hate.), or at least, not as much of an asshole. The story is currently about a third of the way through the original SEED stuff so it'll be a while until the Destiny plot elements start entering the equation. As a note, I am changing a lot of the events of SEED and will for Destiny as well, but you can expect the major events to enter the story, though they might in a different way or time (e.g. the Battle of Orb). Thanks again for the comments. I haven't written a lot of pseudo-emotional stuff before, so please tell me if there's something I misrepresented or is OOC, etc. Updates ASAP. 


	12. Most Astonished Foe

_**Most Astonished Foe**_

"Kira! I'll admit, that was a hell of a surprise!" yelled Mu.

Kira smiled as he exited the Freedom and pushed off for the deck of the hangar. As soon as he landed, Murrue enfolded him into a hug while Mu patted him on the shoulder. The hangar crew and various others who had come to see him congregated in a cluster, each with massive smiles plastered on their faces.

"It was all Siegel Clyne's doing. I just piloted this thing," said Kira, blushing at the attention.

"Like hell, kid. We may have been running like hell, but every one of us on the bridge saw you wipe out those mobile suits in one shot," said Mu grinning wildly.

"Kira, thank you so much. I know you risked everything for us," said Murrue, now stepping back form the embrace, tears forming in her eyes.

"I… It was my fault you were captured in the first place," said Kira, staring at the floor. "It couldn't very well leave you all to those butchers."

"I thought you had friends in ZAFT, though?" asked Mu carefully.

"I do, but I wasn't referring to them. There are plenty of good people in ZAFT and the PLANTs, but Chairman Zala has been whipping them up into a frenzy." Kira lifted his gaze and met Mu's steadily. "I've seen it. It's scary. It's like none of them even consider naturals as living beings anymore."

"Just like Blue Cosmos, eh?" said Mu with a shrug.

"Come, now. None of that matters for the moment," said Murrue, wiping away her tears. "Let's get you some quarters, Kira."

The cheering crew parted as the two officers led Kira out of the hangar.

* * *

"Ah, Kira. Rested up?" asked Murrue, as Kira stepped onto the bridge. Behind her, Ensign Badgiruel frowned at the ZAFT Red uniform Kira still wore. Though he had deserted and betrayed ZAFT, Kira still couldn't bring himself to take off the uniform. He had only had it for a short time, but the ideals it was filled with, the ideals Athrun had shared with him, were something he couldn't abandon so quickly.

"As much as I will be any time soon," he replied with a smile.

"Kira, this is Martin DaCosta," said Mu, indicating a ZAFT Green standing beside them at the plotting table in the CIC. "He was one of Clyne's supporters who helped us break out of the trial."

"Mr. Yamato, it is an honor to meet you," said DaCosta, saluting. "There are many of us out there who have heard of you and your exploits. We appreciate your honesty and idealism; it is something very much lacking in ZAFT."

"Thank you, but I really didn't do anything," said Kira, quickly continuing before he could be refuted. "But can you tell me, what was Mr. Clyne's escape route? And what of the other Earth prisoners?"

"I'm afraid I do not know what the Chairman or his daughter intended to do. But as for the other prisoners, there were only enough of us to break out this group. We are counting on the confusion to distract Zala from the trials for a while. After all, the break out was flashy enough that he will undoubtedly send a large number of forces to track us down," said DaCosta.

"And that leads us to another point. Are you willing to keep piloting that… amazing suit?" asked Mu.

"Yes," said Kira resolutely. "I knew what this would mean when I agreed to help Mr. Clyne out. I'm fully prepared for anything."

"Good, because we are likely to need it," said Murrue, looking concernedly at the PLANT icons surrounding the L5 location on the plotting table.

"But where are we headed?" asked Kira.

"That… that is a good question," admitted Murrue. "Of course, the most obvious thing would be to head for the Moon, or Earth for that matter, and rejoin OMNI forces. But… I for one have no interest in doing that."

Kira looked up in surprise, and caught the scowl on Badgiruel's face.

"After seeing the bombardment of Orb…" said Murrue, trailing off.

"Let's just say, that it opened some eyes about the Earth Forces, and Blue Cosmos's involvement in the decision making process," said Mu, gripping Murrue's shoulder as he spoke. "The Atlantic Federation in particular is completely controlled by Blue Cosmos. They are willing to wipe out anyone and everyone who get in their way, including innocents and allies."

"Does everyone feel this way?" said Kira, looking at the Ensign with hooded eyes.

"No…" said Murrue, pursing her lips.

"I for one, do not," said Natarle. "I understand your anger, ma'am, sir, but I cannot just leave Earth to itself, especially now."

"And that is why we made sure there were plenty of shuttle craft stowed aboard," said DaCosta. "We expected that some people might not want to stay with the ship, whether it was us or former prisoners. The shuttles should be able to reach the Moon easily from our course."

"Our course?" said Kira, confused.

"We're heading for the debris belt, for now," said Murrue. "ZAFT will expect us to head for the Moon or L4, but the debris belt should be outside of their search patterns."

"Of course, there are still the Earth Force's fleets in orbit, but we should be able to hide in the clutter," said Mu.

"Sounds like you have everything all planned out," said Kira, dropping his further questions. He had caught several covert glances between DaCosta, Mu, and Murrue and deduced that something else was going on, behind the back of Badgiruel and other discontented crewmen. "Well, what do you need me to do for now?"

"Nothing, Kira," said Murrue smiling. "For now, please, just relax."

* * *

Athrun sulked in his rack, staring at the uniformly grey ceiling above him. Having been assigned a prototype Mobile Weapon, and subsequently to the Special Forces, he had been given quarters all to himself. The _Eternal_, a brand new ship designed specifically for the Justice, and the stolen Freedom, was far more comfortable than most of the ships Athrun had served on, but he couldn't help but feel depressed wherever he went on the ship. The absence of his friends and the fact that the ship was carrying him to another confrontation with his friend left him despairing.

They had been under weigh for nearly five days now, cruising at maximum military power toward the L4 colonies, the bearing the _Archangel_ and Freedom had last been detected on before dropping off ZAFT sensors. The crew, all highly experienced veterans, was not particularly welcoming to Athrun. They had all served with the captain, Commander Waltfeld, before, most having been called up with Waltfeld from Africa for the operation. Their gazes seemed accusatory, almost blaming him for their having to hunt down the _Archangel_. But a few muttered words and over-heard conversations had thoroughly confused Athrun. The crew didn't seem to be grumbling over the new assignment; rather, they seemed genuinely upset that they couldn't just let the prisoners and their rescuers get away. It even appeared that one of their number had been among the traitorous ZAFT soldiers now with the _Archangel_.

"Damn them and their DaCosta!" Athrun snarled with venom, slamming his fist on the bulkhead. "I feel the same damned way and those looks aren't helping!"

"A little frustrated, eh?"

Athrun turned his head in surprise; he hadn't heard the door open. He blinked for a moment in the bright light of the hall flooding into the dark room, but jumped out of bed the moment they adjusted.

"Commander Waltfeld!" said Athrun, gulping. "I apologize. I didn't hear you enter."

"It's quite alright," replied the tall, tanned man with a laugh. "This is a personal visit, so sit down, please. And call me Andrew in situations like this. Too much formality can go to a guy's head."

Athrun waited for the Commander to settle in his desk chair before sitting down himself.

"So, Com—I mean Andrew, what is it you wanted to see me about," he asked hesitantly.

"I've noticed that you have not been out of your quarters much. The Chief of the Boat says you've hardly spoken to any of the crew." Andrew shrugged his shoulders. "We may be entering a difficult battle in the near future, and that kind of discord can be dangerous. What's the problem?"

Silence filled the room as Athrun pondered his answer.

"I guess…" he began. "I guess it's that this is one battle I cannot fight."

"Is there a problem with your mobile suit?" replied Andrew.

"No, that's not what I mean," said Athrun. "It's a personal thing. I've sworn to protect the PLANTs and follow ZAFT, but I've also sworn to a friend, a very good friend, that we'll never be enemies again. I've already fought him once, and the results were terrible for us both."

"I take it you're referring to the young Coordinator?" said Andrew with a grin. "Kira Yamato?" Athrun could see the gleam in the commander's eyes as he glanced up quickly in surprise. "Oh, yes. I've heard the name. The ZAFT Public Affairs bureau has down a good job editing him out of events with the La Creuset Team and of course no one has mentioned that a Coordinator stole the Freedom, but I have my sources. They tell me you and he stayed at the Clyne house for several weeks before the… incident. It doesn't take a genius to add up the pieces."

Athrun looked down at the deck and sighed.

"I should have guessed people would figure it out," he said wearily. "But it seems none of your crew have."

"I'm sorry?" replied Andrew.

Athrun looked up again, meeting the commander's eyes fiercely.

"Your crew… I've heard them muttering things, even when I'm right next to them." He gestured violently in the air. "They talk about how this is my fault. How they have to kill one of their own because of me, the Chairman's son. That I'm somehow forcing them. And they don't even know that my own father is ordering me to kill my best friend while he sends others to execute my fiancée!"

Athrun's breath came shallow and fast as he refused to break his stare at the commander.

"They may well be ignorant of that," said Andrew, at last. "I hadn't really thought about the implications of that until now, either. But at the same time, you can't blame them. First my XO, DaCosta, is reassigned away from the unit, where he was universally liked. Then he acts as any of us would and joins the prisoner rather than being a party to such crimes. And finally, they are all forced to leave the planet and sent here, where our only purpose is ostensibly to cart you around to execute their friend for your father."

"If that is really what you think, how can you stand to continue chasing the _Archangel_?" asked Athrun.

"For the same reason you didn't leave ZAFT with your friend. I still take my oaths to PLANT and ZAFT very seriously. Abandoning them is no small thing." He paused, running his hand through his hair. "To be honest, I haven't made up my mind about anything yet. I'm personally hoping that we never find them."

"But how did they pick you to do this job?" said Athrun. For all that he could realize this man's loyalty, he doubted that his father would.

"Because I keep my mouth shut about things like this," replied Andrew with an ironic grin. "I stay on Earth, out of politics, and win my battles just like I'm ordered to. As far as my assignment here is concerned, your father was simply selecting an experienced and respected tactician for what would undoubtedly be a tough fight."

"_Captain Waltfeld to the bridge! Captain Waltfeld to the bridge! Priority transmission coming in._"

Stretching, Andrew stood and walked towards the door. Just before leaving, he turned to Athrun with a grin.

"I've got an idea for you to get some positive exposure with the crew. Why don't you come up with me to the bridge to join in the decision making process?"

Athrun nodded and stood, sealing up his Red uniform as he joined the commander.

* * *

Athrun sat in a spare chair around the main plotting table on the bridge as Andrew settled into his command chair.

"Alright, what do you have for me?" said Andrew.

"Sir," began the communications officer, turning his chair to face the commander. "It is an audio/visual transmission from Aprilius One, marked confidential and eyes-only to you."

"Okay, everyone," said Andrew turning to the rest of the bridge crew. "I want you to promise that you'll only use your eyes to watch this recording." The crewmembers chuckled as Andrew turned back to the comm. officer, a grin on his face. "Put it on the main screen."

Athrun watched as the star field displayed on the forward screen, as if a window, died and was replaced by the familiar face of his father.

"_Commander Waltfeld. I hope to have news of your success very soon. In the mean time, I have some good news indeed. The traitor Clyne has been killed. He very fortuitously decided to flee when the La Creuset Team came for him; a nice tidy reason to shoot him in the back. As for his bitch of a daughter, I do think you'll enjoy this."_

Athrun watched, and listened, in horror as the image changed again, this time to slightly grainy footage with the distinctive green coloring of night vision. The camera swung back and forth and seemed to bounce in time to the movements of the soldiers on screen before it; evidently it was a helmet camera.

"_Hold up Three-One-One. Three-Six has not given us the prosecution order yet."_

The voice, evidently from the soldier bearing the camera, was clear and deep, unlike the confirmatory replies coming in over the radio, marred by static.

The camera swung around again, showing a dozen ZAFT soldiers in Special Forces battle kit lined up against a wall.

"_Three-One, this is Three-Six. You are clear to go."_

"Roger that, Three-Six. Listen up Three-One-One. We are clear to go. By the books, people."

The camera turned again in time to see the soldier at the front of the line, across the entrance from the camera, sling his rifle and pull a sledgehammer from a backpack. He stepped back a foot from the door and drew back the hammer. With a grunt of exertion, he hurled it into the door, which shattered. The soldiers darted inside, tossing in stun and flash grenades. Shouts of "_Clear!"_ began to come over the radio as the soldiers spread out throughout the rundown house.

_"There! At the back!"_

The camera turned suddenly at the cry, and Athrun gasped as he saw pink hair disappearing around a corner. The soldiers all took off sprinting and rounded the corner with weapons at the ready. A few well-placed shots took down two Green Coats running alongside Lacus and one of the soldiers appeared to be taking a bead on the girl herself.

"_No! I've got her!"_

The camera surged ahead, gaining ground on Lacus. Hands loomed into the field of view and in a moment latched onto Lacus. She shrieked as she stumbled to the ground.

"_Shut up you traitorous bitch!"_

One of the soldiers cuffed her hard on the back of the head while another restrained her arms. Two more wandered around, putting rounds in the heads of the already dead bodyguards.

"_You should feel lucky we didn't kill you and that we aren't going to have any fun with you."_

A chuckle rose from the soldiers as one turned her face. The camera leaned in, and Athrun could make out in pain-staking detail the blood dripping from her mouth and the scratches marring her perfect skin. Even as the screen flickered to black and the star field returned, he stood and slammed his fist onto the plotting table. Every person on the bridge, Andrew included, turned to look at him in surprise.

"Are you ready to do what you have to?" asked Andrew quietly. "I understand that you had to walk away from one of your friends before. I won't stop you from doing it again."

"No," said Athrun, with calm lethality in his voice. "I realize now that that was a mistake. My father has turned the Council, ZAFT even, into what he is: a bigoted lot of brutes and cowards, using their force on a girl like Lacus."

"Will you see this through to the end?" Andrew said.

"Absolutely." Athrun looked up stubbornly. "Will you?"

To his surprise, Andrew merely laughed.

"We have been this entire time. Every person on this ship has been prepared to mutiny the moment we find the _Archangel_. We were just keeping up the act because we weren't sure about you, kid."

He stopped chuckling and his grin turned frosty as his voice lowered to barely more than whisper.

"ZAFT has no idea what kind of mistake they just made."

* * *

**A/N**: Double post. A/N in next chapter.


	13. Play the Game

_**Play the Game **_

"Sir, the escapee that wished to see you is here."

"Understood, send them in one at a time," said the admiral, responding to his secretary. He continued to peruse the report he was reading even as a dark haired ensign entered his office and saluted.

"So, ensign," he said, not looking up, "what is it?"

"Sir, as you know I just arrived back from the Moon a week ago, and given that I had last seen it two weeks before that, my information may be out of date," she said.

"Spit it out… Ensign Badgiruel," he said, reading her nameplate off her chest.

"Sir, I saw some very distinct markings on a stolen ZAFT mobile suit. Sir, ZAFT has… ZAFT has nuclear powered mobile suits."

Very slowly and very precisely, the admiral lowered the report and stared into the young woman's eyes.

"Ensign… you are going to tell me everything you saw."

* * *

"So what exactly is waiting for us at the L4 colonies?" asked Kira, watching the debris surrounding the abandoned colonies ahead growing in the view screen.

Mu, Murrue, and DaCosta looked up at him in surprise.

"What… what makes you think anything would be waiting for us at L4?" said Murrue, slowly.

"The secretive looks that you three have been passing each other for the past three weeks," said Kira matter-of-factly.

"I told you he was too smart to hide this from," said Mu with a grin.

"I'll admit it, you were right," said DaCosta.

"Are you going to tell me?" asked Kira again.

"Fine… the remnants of the Orb military have set up shop in the L4 colonies. Clyne apparently found received some reports from unofficial channels and passed this along to DaCosta and company," said Mu.

"We've been intending to head there since we broke out form Aprilius One," said Murrue. "But we didn't want Natarle and the others to report our destination to Earth Forces command."

"Orb apparently intends to stop this war," said DaCosta. "Something I think we can all agree to."

"That has to be the understatement of the-" Mu was cut off by a sudden blaring form the sensor watchman's station in the CIC.

"Contact! Many contacts! I am reading three unknown classes of warship, many mobile suits… and a ZAFT ship of unknown type!"

"Battle stations. Sound general quarters," said Murrue, swinging into her command chair.

Without waiting for further word, Kira sprinted out of the bridge and rode the lift to the berthing deck. Dodging past crewmen heading towards their watch posts, Kira entered his room and began stripping out of his ZAFT uniform. A moment later, clad in his ZAFT flight suit, he exited and headed for the hangar.

"Everything's good, kid!" yelled Chief Murdoch as Kira launched up from the deck towards the cockpit entrance of the Freedom.

"Thanks!" he yelled back, even as he strapped into his flight couch. Flipping the switch to close the cockpit, Kira began running through a systems check. All greens returning, he opened up his communications channel.

"Bridge, I'm ready to go."

"_Okay, Kira. Launch as soon as you're ready. You're our only mobile suit out there_," replied Murrue, cutting in over the communications officer.

"I understand." He moved the suit forward and into the launch stance as the hangar door opened and linear accelerators extended. Positive checks coming up on the launch status board, Kira opened up his throttle. "Freedom! Launching!"

The _Archangel's_ catapult spat him out of the ship at high speed, directly on course for the approaching ships.

"_We haven't received any hails yet,"_ said Murrue. "_But let's give them the benefit of the doubt for now."_

Kira nodded to himself, but readied his beam rifle all the same. Triggering the Freedom's powerful optics, he zoomed in the image of the unknown ZAFT ship. It was unlike the _Vesalius _or any other he had seen before.

"Are we sure that's a ZAFT ship?" he asked, uncertain.

"_That's what the IFF transponder is telling us. Why? Is anything wrong?"_

"No… I've just never seen anything like it before…"

A priority broadcast icon suddenly appeared in the corner of the communications screen. Kira broke into a huge smile as the video link opened up.

"_Kira Yamato, it is good to see you again,"_ said Athrun, grinning behind his helmet faceplate.

"Athrun! What are you doing here?" said Kira excitedly.

_"Well, I'm here to capture you, you traitor,"_ he replied with a grin, but he quickly sobered. "_Actually, Kira, you and your Captain need to get over here quickly. There is something you need to see._"

* * *

As the recording ended and the screen shifted from Lacus's pained face back to display the view ahead of the ship, Kira gritted his teeth in rage. His eyes flashed up as Athrun patted his shoulder.

"You two appear to have the same reaction to this."

Kira turned to face the speaker, a tall man sitting in the command chair of the strange ship, the _Eternal_ as they had called it.

"I'm Andrew Waltfeld, commander of this little group of engineers. I believe you've met my former XO, Martin DaCosta?" he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Would that make you the Desert Tiger?" asked Kira, awed.

The whooshing of the bridge entrance as it opened cut off any response. Through it stepped Murrue, Mu, DaCosta, a few other unknown people, and a blonde Kira had only briefly seen before.

"Well, it seems we've assembled all of the great minds of this little force," said Waltfeld, rising from his seat. "Captain Ramius, I've heard much about you. An honor."

Murrue smiled as she took his hand.

"This is Mu La Flaga, my XO of sorts," she said.

"Ah, the Hawk of Endymion. Of course," said Waltfeld, taking the other man's hand.

"And the Desert Tiger. Never thought I would be shaking hands with you," said Mu with a smile.

"Well, and this is Cagalli Yula Athha, the Representative of Orb," said Waltfeld, introducing the two newcomers to their lift companion.

"Of course. We spoke briefly on the walk up from the cargo bay," said Murrue as she shook hands.

"I've heard a lot about you, Captain Ramius," said the blonde, taking Mu's hand in turn. "And this is Ledonir Kisaka, my military commander." The tall man simply bowed.

"Well, then, shall we get down to business?" said Waltfeld, sitting down. He pivoted the command chair to face the plotting table, around which the leaders were taking a seat. Kira, Athrun, and DaCosta remained standing next to him. "So what is our primary objective? Of course, our ultimate goal is to force a peace between Earth and the PLANTs. Having ZAFT and Earth's most advanced warships and the most advanced mobile suits in the universe will naturally help."

"Can we really force peace between the two?" said Cagalli.

"I think if we intervene, if we make it impossible for either side to win engagements, they'll at least have to call a cease fire," said Murrue. "That will give us a chance to make a more lasting peace."

"But my question still stands; what are we going to do first?" repeated Waltfeld.

"I think we need to move back towards the debris belt," said Mu. "The Earth Forces aren't going to be making any offensives for a while. They'll be building up the largest number of mobile suits they can for now. They next engagements will probably be on Earth, trying to drive ZAFT out of their bases."

"Can we reasonably intervene there?" asked Murrue.

"Our production of mobile suits is nothing like either the Earth Forces or ZAFT," said Cagalli. "All we have are two factory ships. We've built a total of twelve suits so far. Individually, I expect they'll be better than anything that the Earth Forces have and should be on par with GINNs, but we'd be swamped in a gravity well."

"I know," replied Mu. "But ZAFT will certainly retaliate, I would imagine against the lunar fleets and bases. In space, our technological superiority will be multiplied, especially with the Freedom's and Justice's longevity."

"So we're to play the waiting game?" said Andrew, shrugging.

"I think that's all that is reasonable for now," interjected Kisaka. "If we have a little more time, we can fill all of the births in our three warships and all of the hangar space in the factory ships, but training pilots is going to take much longer."

"Aren't we forgetting something?" said Kira, suddenly. He frowned at the assembled leaders' puzzled faces. "Lacus. She and her father are the reasons why any of this is possible. Are we simply going to abandon her?"

"I can guess at exactly what my father is putting her through, too," said Athrun with quiet rage.

"There's no way our forces could manage to break through the ZAFT forces around Aprilius One," said Cagalli. "Your breakout was only possible because you had the element of surprise… and you were running away, not fighting."

"Well, I, and all of my crew, would like to see Miss Clyne rescued as well," said Andrew. "Do you have any thoughts?"

"Obviously a frontal assault would be foolish," said Athrun, glancing at Cagalli. "I was thinking more along the lines of infiltration. There are still partisans of the Clyne's among ZAFT soldiers, aren't there?"

"Yes," replied DaCosta. "Maybe 70 percent of our number participated in the escape. The rest didn't have postings that would facilitate it."

"Well, if we can organize them, we can make our way in and break out Lacus. With their help, we should be able to steal a shuttle or something," said Athrun.

"Mmm, and ZAFT HQ is still probably unsure about our status," said Andrew. "If you could convince them that you were checking back in, that the _Eternal_ was still out on patrol, that might be your ticket in."

"That and Kira being a double agent," said Athrun. He looked over at his friend. "My father was wary of you, Kira, but he's a bigot. If we tell him that you and I planned your mutiny, that you thought that you could use your 'in' with the 'dirty Naturals' to get close and follow them, he just might believe it."

"But wouldn't Commander Le Creuset and the others see right through that?" said Kira.

"Le Creuset is a strange man," said Mu. "I've fought him before. There's no telling what he'll do."

"Exactly," said Athrun. "Hopefully, we won't run into any of them. But if we do, the commander may very well stay quiet, just to see what happens. Nicol will definitely not say anything, and I can probably convince Dearka to keep quiet. Yzak is the only real danger, but over all our chances are good."

"Well, it sounds like you have quite the plan," said Andrew. "I think it sounds reasonable."

"I do as well," said Murrue. "I just worry for your safety."

"I think it's needlessly risky," said Cagalli, "but I can see that you two won't be easily persuaded."

"Very well then," said Andrew. "It's decided. DaCosta, send messages to your contacts right away. You two will leave first thing tomorrow in a long-range shuttle. Is there anything else?" He looked around the table with a smirk. "Well, then, I think we are finished here."

The assembled leaders stood and began to move towards the lift. Kira turned towards Athrun, but was stopped by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find the blonde staring at him.

"Your name is Kira Yamato, correct?" said Cagalli.

"Umm, that's right," he replied.

"Call me Cagalli. I need you to come with me." She turned and walked towards the lift.

Sharing a confused look with Athrun, Kira followed her, as did Athrun, curious. The three rode and walked in silence, until arriving in a break room off of the _Eternal's _hangar.

"Kira!"

Kira looked up in surprise, only to be tackled by a brown haired girl.

"M-Miriallia?" he said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"She insisted on coming into space with me," offered Cagalli.

"How are you, Kira? We were so worried when ZAFT captured you," said Miriallia.

"I'm… I'm fine," said Kira, still off balance from the surprise. "But where is everyone else?"

"Oh, Kuzzey was scared and decided to join the refugees in Australia. I think Sai went to the Atlantic Federation to find Flay. Tolle…" The grin borne on Miriallia's face left quite suddenly. "Tolle was killed in Orb, by the orbital strike."

Kira stood, silent for a moment, as yet another shock passed over him. He stepped forward quickly and embraced her.

"I'm so sorry Miriallia," he said.

"I'm… I'm okay, Kira. It still makes me sad, but I've had a long time to think it through by now," she said, smiling again. "Really, don't worry about me."

"Kira, I'm sorry to break up this reunion, but we've got to get everything prepared," said Athrun, standing off to the side with Cagalli.

"What are you preparing for? Can I help?" said Miriallia brightly.

"No. Athrun and I are going to infiltrate back into ZAFT," said Kira. "There is a debt we have to repay."

"Well, you had better be careful," said Miriallia with mock sternness. "If I find out I came all this way with the Orb forces only for you to get yourself killed on some rescue mission, I'll be very angry."

"I promise, Milly," said Kira, smiling again. "I promise."

* * *

"Send the signal to base," said the man, half hidden in shadows. His fellow sleeper cell members were equally obscured in the poor lighting of the rundown warehouse. "We're in position and all we're waiting for now is the right opportunity."

"Should we mention the source?" asked his subordinate.

"No," said the man. "He's too highly placed to risk mentioning in a message. It might be intercepted."

"But wouldn't that ruin the mission anyways?" replied the subordinate.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. The next team that comes could meet up with him then," said the man. "The importance of this mission means that command will keep trying until someone succeeds. These N-jammer cancellers might finally mean we achieve it… our Blue and Pure world."

* * *

**A/N:** I'd like to begin by apologizing for my long hiatus. A great number of things have come up for me personally, academically, and in terms of illness, applying to and getting into college being not small among them. Even still I feel very bad for leaving this fic for so long. My partial writer's block, as I mentioned in my A/N after _With Rock for Pillow_, didn't help things either. To let you know where we more or less stand now, there exactly seven more chapters left in the SEED timeline for this fic. Everything is planned out in explicit detail, and all that awaits is the writing. I don't really have any other demands on my time at present, so I'll try to power through these seven right now. Then I'll have to decide whether to continue the SEED Destiny timeline within this same fic title or to continue with a sequel. Input would be nice with this one.

As for things in the story, I think I can now answer a few questions already asked in previous comments. First of all, this story features KiraxLacus. I think I've made that clear from the beginning, so I'm sorry if that upsets some people. At the same time, I think it is much more than just a romance, and there are certainly other couples coming up (notice Miriallia and Cagalli showing up, anyone?). I'll grant that there hasn't been a whole lot of romance going on so far, but such are the needs of the narrative. As worked out, there is much more opportunity for this is coming chapters and, of course, the sequel/continuation. If action is your thing, well, let's just say Genesis is coming, soon.

At any rate, I'd like to apologize again. I really appreciated having a steady group of readers (and commentators). I hope I won't have lost that with the long pause, but I understand if I have. Hopefully, this story will still be to your liking and better than before.


	14. The Best He Ever Done

_**The Best He Ever Done**_

"_Shuttle Lima Seven, this is Aprilius Control. ZAFT Security has verified your codes. You are clear for approach to Bay 17F."_

"Roger that, Aprilius Control. Lima Seven on approach," replied Athrun, gently accelerating the shuttle forward.

"So far, so good, right?" said Kira.

"Yeah," said Athrun, absent-mindedly. "To be honest, there was never any doubt that they would accept my codes, but yeah, so far, so good."

The shuttle carried on straight towards the maw of the docking bay. The station served the whole of Aprilius City, so Kira and Athrun would have to catch another shuttle to Aprilius One. Assuming, of course, that a Special Forces team wasn't waiting inside the airlock to arrest them.

Kira sighed. The four-day trip had given the two of them some time to calm down over what had happened to Lacus. Athrun had had several weeks to deal with it, but Kira's anger had caused a quick relapse. But now they had funneled that anger, tempered it and turned it into pure determination to get her out of there. Not that there desire along would pull it off. DaCosta had sent off messages to his contacts in what was now being called the "Clyne Faction" to prepare them for what would be a tough operation. In fact, one of the first things Athrun and Kira intended to do was to meet up with those selfsame contacts and work out a viable ops plan. The more Kira thought about the number of things that could go wrong, the more disheartened he felt.

The buffer arms of the station locked onto the shuttle with a jolt, stirring Kira from his thoughts. Athrun pulled off his headset and flipped off the last few power settings on the shuttle. They both swung out of the seats and pushed off for the main hatch, grabbing their bags first.

"The moment of truth, eh?" joked Kira.

Athrun grinned and punched the hatch control. With a hiss and a tone, it signaled positive lock with the station and whooshed open. No armed and angry guards inside, and the two Reds chuckled. Pushing off, they glided down the airlock and through the station-side entrance.

"Sirs," greeted the Green guard on the other side, his sidearm reassuringly in its holster. "Your IDs?"

"Actually," began Athrun, pulling a code cylinder out of his pocket, "you won't need to see those." The soldier plugged the cylinder into his pad, and his eyes widened as he read the output. "Special Forces business."

The Green pulled up into crisp attention.

"My apologies, Commander Zala," he said, saluting and staring several centimeters over the teen's head. "I did not recognize you, sir."

"It's no problem," replied Athrun airily while returning the salute. "We'll just be on our way then."

He and Kira walked briskly and confidently out of the docking bay lobby.

"So far, so good."

* * *

"Mr. Chairman, your son and his guest have arrived."

Patrick Zala looked up form the computer terminal on his desk at the Purple coated staffer standing in the office entrance.

"Have they been checked?" he asked gruffly.

"Sir, the Special Forces codes in your son's possession checked out, so they were admitted without further scrutiny," said the man, frowning. "Shall I send them back to security."

"Whatever, whatever. Its just waste of time," said Patrick. "Send them in."

The staffer slipped out of the door, which slid shut for a moment. Touching the sleep button on the terminal display, Patrick turned to face the door, hands folded in front of him. He was generally proud of his son, though he would never show it. Athrun had performed admirably in battle and distinguished himself among his comrades. Of course, the boy was still entirely too sentimental, as his overly easy fraternization with traitors had shown. The boy needed to be more paranoid; he needed to realize, like his father, that everyone was participating in some deception, in some deeper purpose that had yet to be revealed, that had to be forced into the open.

The door slid open and Patrick cleared his mind as two Red coats walked in. His face instantly hardened as he recognized the young man accompanying his son.

"Athrun, you have two seconds to explain yourself before I call security and have you both executed."

"Sir, I understand this is unorthodox, but I brought Pilot Yamato here to report to you, personally," said Athrun, standing at perfect parade rest, just like the other boy, a step behind him.

"What do you mean?" said Patrick, annoyed.

"Sir, I'm afraid your son has been deceiving you for some time," said Athrun. "I had previously said that I was unaware of Pilot Yamato's treachery. That is untrue. It was discussed and planned ahead of time."

"This is meant to explain yourself?" said Patrick, torn between rage and amusement.

"Sir, what I mean to say is that Pilot Yamato and myself have become aware of the Clyne's treachery and the general disloyalty of some former ZAFT soldiers before the incident occurred. Pilot Yamato and I agreed that the Clyne's were very smart, and ZAFT would thus need an inside man if we were to finally stamp out all of the traitors inside ZAFT. Pilot Yamato will explain more, sir."

"Sir," began the second young man, stepping forward and bracing to attention. "Your son and I recognized that there were a number of ZAFT traitors, some likely within your own office and ZAFT's internal security organs. I insinuated myself with the Clyne's and gained an integral part in their operation."

"Then why did you not reveal it? You destroyed millions of credits of mobile suits and warships!" yelled Patrick, growing impatient.

"Sir, as you may have noticed, I did not fire any lethal shots during the breakout," continued the pilot. "Your son and I agreed that if we informed you of the Clyne's plans, any attempt to capture them would be foiled by the traitors in your office. Instead, I 'joined' the traitors for a time to infiltrate their information system. Unfortunately, even the traitors with the escapees do not know the names of the higher-placed traitors. However, I did uncover a number of codewords that I had hoped we could check against Siegel Clyne."

"Well, unfortunately for that, he is quite dead, as I'm sure my son has mentioned," said Patrick.

"Yes, sir. However, I hoped that perhaps his daughter might recognize some of them. I left the escapees, under the pretense of drawing off the _Eternal_, for just such a purpose. The _Eternal _is currently monitoring the secure messages from the traitors, from a distance of course. We cannot decode the messages, but we can detect their frequencies. If we can identify the dead drops for the codenames from Clyne's daughter, we can cross reference communications frequencies from the PLANTs against those the _Eternal_ collects." Finished, the young man saluted and withdrew behind Athrun again.

Patrick sighed and stared impassively at the two young men for a moment.

"Athrun, Yamato, you should have contacted Commander Le Creuset about this earlier," he began. "However, your initiative is to be commended. If this works, and the amount of time you have spent making sure it will speaks for itself, you will have accomplished the biggest counter-intelligence coup of the war."

He lapsed into silence again, before a slight smirk broke out on his face.

"Go get the codename information from the Clyne girl. And if she doesn't talk willingly with you, then we'll simply have to encourage her."

"Of course, sir," said Athrun, with a confident nod. "Pilot Yamato and I were hoping that we might have a look at Siegel Clyne's possessions. Pilot Yamato's work with the traitors might reveal some hidden effects not previously detected."

"Yes, naturally," agreed Patrick. "All of it has been preserved at the Clyne estate. I will have Commander Le Creuset and your comrades sent to assist you. They proved quite adept at counter-intelligence work when they located Clyne." He paused again, eyeing the young men once more. "Pilot Yamato, you are dismissed. Athrun, you will wait."

The young pilot saluted promptly and marched from the room, the door closing behind him.

"I'll admit, Athrun, I doubted you," began Patrick. "You've always been too soft. Those Clyne's were trouble from the start and I worried that that Yamato had affected you negatively as well. But, it appears the two of you make quite the suspicious team. I am very proud of you, Athrun. For years, I have told you to be less trusting, less emotional, and it seems all of that has paid off." He gave his son a brief smile. "Once all this business is done, and we execute the last Clyne and all of the other traitors, I think I'll reassign you and your friend to ZAFT Security. Clearly they need you."

"Thank you, sir… father," said Athrun quietly. "I would be honored. We would both be honored."

"Very well. I have a lot to do," said Patrick, waking up his terminal. "You are dismissed."

* * *

The grounds of the Clyne estate were heavily guarded. The ground car Athrun and Kira rode in was stopped several times before reaching the main gate. There, they were stopped and searched before being brought aside to talk to the commander of the guards. He led them inside a small booth, unoccupied by anyone else.

"Okay," he began, as soon as the door was shut behind them. "We don't have much time. Le Creuset and the others will be here within minutes. Thanks to some crew change ups, we've been able to get the _Vesalius_ filled with almost all loyal crewmen. Only a few of the chiefs and command crew, including the captain, will be trouble, but we'll take care of that. Plus, this means we can capture two of the other G-Weapons as well. The Buster and Blitz are still aboard. The Strike, Aegis, and Duel are being kept aside for more testing, but the gain of the other two will be a bonus for the _Eternal_."

"When's the kick-off time?" asked Athrun.

"Visit Miss Clyne at 1700 today. That will give enough time for loyal prison guards to get into position. Once you use your authority to open the cell, they'll take it from there."

A sudden beeping cut him off short.

"That means the Le Creuset team is inbound. Good luck. I won't be able to join you in the escape, but I hope you get Miss Clyne out of there. I've heard about what has happened to her, and it's terrible."

"We promise we will," said Kira, shaking the man's hand.

Quickly, he and Athrun exited the booth and headed towards the man house, parts of which had been torched and ripped apart.

"How exactly does my father expect that we'd find anything in here anyways?" said Athrun.

"I don't know," replied Kira. "I don't even know why he bought our story. It sounded way flimsier when we were presenting it to him then when we came up with it."

"I told you my father's paranoid," said Athrun with a snort. "He looks for conspiracies everywhere. He drinks this kind of thing up."

They both turned as the distinctive sounds of a ground car came to a halt. Exiting the main entrance back onto the front drive, they were met by the familiar sight of Commander Le Creuset, closely followed by Nicol, Dearka, and Yzak.

"Well, Athrun," began Le Creuset, "I had not expected this level of subterfuge from you. I was suitably impressed."

"You certainly had us going," said Nicol. "Especially you, Kira."

"Yeah. It's a good thing you weren't around Yzak," said Dearka with a snort. "He was ready to murder you."

"Shut up!" hissed Yzak. "Zala's just never been devious before."

"Well, it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing," said Athrun, refusing to meet Le Creuset's all-too-knowing eyes. "I guess we just saw an opportunity and acted."

"Well, next time tell us first, so I don't kill you," muttered Yzak.

"I think we should get going, gentlemen," said Le Creuset. "Anything we should look for in particular, Mr. Yamato?"

"Anything written personally by Clyne," said Kira, trying to hide his panic. He had hoped the question wouldn't come. "Especially trivial notes."

"Very well," replied the commander. "Let's be about it."

* * *

"We'll be back in a half hour, then," said Nicol at the entrance to the Internal Security prison complex. "We'll meet up for dinner."

"Sounds good," said Athrun with a smile, not liking the deception he was foisting on his innocent friend.

Nicol waved cheerfully good bye and got back into the ground car with Yzak and Dearka, as Kira and Athrun stepped forward and into the complex.

"So far, so good," muttered Kira.

"Here we go though," said Athrun, nodding at a Green guard, checking his code cylinder.

It didn't take them long to reach the cellblock Lacus was being held in. While the other cells all had prisoners of some sort, from people simply cooling their heels after a fight to some doing hard time for attempted desertion, Lacus's block was empty of prisoners, and full of guards. Kira and Athrun approached the foursome standing in front of Lacus's cell, handing them the authorization.

"Will you be needing anything, sirs?" asked the senior guard, handing back the code cylinder.

"Actually, we'd like this one to be off the records," said Athrun, with a fake grin. "We'd like for this trip to not… show up in any official recordings."

"I completely understand, sir," said the guard with a matching leer. "There have been a few other… gentlemen from Security with just the same need."

"Then we understand each other," replied Athrun, grasping the man's hand as the cell door opened.

He and Kira stepped through, and waited for the heavy locking mechanism to reengage behind them. Strong, bright lights suddenly flickered to life, lighting up the dark cell, and illuminating matted pink hair poking over the top of a tattered, quaking gray blanket.

"Lacus!" said Kira, rushing forward.

The blanket stopped quaking and slowly pulled down, revealing Lacus's face, barely recognizable beneath a slew of bruises and scabs.

"What the hell have the done to you?" said Athrun, furiously.

"K-Kira? Athrun?" said Lacus, in a daze.

Kira knelt before her and stroked her cheek.

"It's okay, now, Lacus. We're here to get you out of here," he said quietly.

"Are they releasing me?" she asked, clearly very disoriented.

"No, Lacus. We're going to break you out. Can you walk?" said Kira.

"Kira, watch the time. Five minutes until the friendlies get here," said Athrun, suppressing his own rage.

"I… I think so," said Lacus, child like. "I have not had the opportunity to in quite some time."

Gingerly, Kira helped her to her feet. She tried to take a step forward, but her legs buckled under her and she fell to the ground. The blanket fell away and exposed her naked body, just as covered in marks of pain as her face.

"Dear me," she said, tears of pain running down her face. "I don't think I can."

"It's okay Lacus," said Kira, gritting his teeth against the rage building up inside him. "Here, put this on."

Kira pulled off his Red tunic and tucked it around Lacus's shoulders.

"Athrun, I'll just have to carry her," he said briskly.

"Okay. One minute now. Get her ready to go," said Athrun, waiting by the door and checking his watch.

"Alright, Lacus, we're going to go now. I'm going to carry you on my back," said Kira, kneeling down in front of her. "Can you get on?"

Lamely, Lacus wrapped her arms around his neck. Kira stood and grabbed her legs, holding on tight.

"No matter what, don't let go, okay?" he said. Lacus nodded diligently.

"Alright lets go," said Athrun.

The cell door swung open and revealed the four guards from before lying dead, a bullet in each of their heads. A group of ten Greens stood in their place, outfitted in battle kit and carrying assault rifles.

"What did they do to her?" began the senior of them angrily.

"Not now," said Athrun. "We've got to move quickly."

"Right," replied the man, grimacing. "Okay, formation Delta. Let's move."

The group moved rapidly through the complex, meeting no one but for the occasional dead body and two groups of other loyalists, standing guard. The team swelled to thirty members as they approached the motor pool entrance. A quick double tap from the point men eliminated both of the guards on watch. The entire group quickly loaded up in two large trucks.

"Commander Zala, you had better ride in front to get us through with your codes," said the senior man.

Athrun nodded and broke off from Kira, who was hoisting Lacus up into the back of the lead truck. In a moment, the team was ready to go and the trucks pulled out. They raced at the maximum permissible speed towards the ZAFT port. They entered unopposed and rode an equipment elevator down to the loading access station. There they finally met a checkpoint. Athrun dismounted from the truck and handed over his code cylinder. It quickly checked out and the trucks continued on towards the cargo airlock of the _Vesalius_. Athrun jumped out again and headed for the guards on duty when a voice rang out.

"Athrun?"

Athrun turned in dread as Nicol and Dearka walked up to him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Nicol. "We aren't supposed to meet for another twenty minutes."

"And what are those trucks?" said Dearka. "Aren't you supposed to be interrogating Lacus Clyne?"

"What is going on here, sirs?" asked one of the guards, stepping forward the meet them. "Is there a problem."

"No, there isn't," said Athrun sternly. "Look, guys, I can explain aboard ship."

"What's going on?" said Nicol again.

"Aboard ship," insisted Athrun.

"I'm afraid I can't let you on, sir, without proper authorization," said the guard. "I'm going to have to call this in," he said reaching for his radio.

"Look, I've got the codes right here," said Athrun, reaching for his pocket.

"I'm afraid that even if you do, protocol dictates that I still have to call it in," continued the guard.

"Shit," muttered Athrun, forcing himself to the decisive point. He stepped back and threw himself to the deck, dragging Dearka and Nicol down with him. "Sigma! Sigma!"

At once, the loyal soldiers boiled out of the trucks and cut down the four guards in a burst of gunfire.

"What the fuck!" yelled Dearka as a soldier ran forward to restrain him.

"I'll explain later!" replied Athrun as he raced forward to open the hatch. The trucks rumbled to life as the doors opened and the whole group entered the ship. The crewmen on the inside didn't look surprised at all to see them, all except for the Chief Petty Officer in charge who strode forward defiantly.

"What the hell is going on here-"

He was cut off by a single gunshot. The crewmen standing behind him returned the pistol to the pocket of his coveralls as the body fell to the floor, dead.

"Welcome, aboard, Commander Zala," he said with a salute. "The bridge and all watch stations will be secured within moments."

"Good," replied Athrun. "We need to get Miss Clyne to sickbay at once." He turned to see Lacus being led timidly from the truck by Kira.

"I understand, sir," replied the rating. "Leave it to us," he continued as a group of deck hands raced forward with a makeshift stretcher.

"God…" murmured Athrun tiredly. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"THEY WHAT!?" roared Patrick Zala. The staffer opened his mouth to repeat himself, but Patrick's fist slammed into his desk, cutting him off. "Never mind that! Send all available forces to hunt them down, now!"

"At once, sir," said the staffer, moving to leave the office.

"Sir!" yelled another, running in and out of breath. "Sir, we just received word. The Earth Alliance has begun a massive offensive in North Africa. And it appears their mobile suit program is finally successful."

"Dammit!" shouted Patrick, ripping apart a book in his hands. "Divert our reserves to L2 in support of our forces in Africa. But keep a sensor watch on the _Vesalius_."

"Yes, sir," said the staffer. Both paused, uncertain whether to salute or wait for more instructions.

"GET OUT!!" exploded Patrick, and the two staffers sped out of the door. "God damn you, Athrun!"

* * *

"What is all the commotion about?" asked the subordinate.

"I have no idea, but I think this is our time to strike," replied the man. Nodding to his fellows, he began to pick up weapons on the table in front of them and loaded them with rounds. "With all of the confusion, they probably wont notice a few murders in their Research and Development section for a week. And that will just make our world come all the sooner."

* * *

**A/N**: All right, here we go again. You have Athrun and Kira being sneaky, Le Creuset apparently up to his old tricks, Lacus badly injured and psychologically distressed, Dearka and Nicol captured and bound for L4, Patrick Zala blowing a gasket, and a bunch of Blue Cosmos crazies ready for their "Blue and Pure world." Fun, eh? At any rate, this is a little better in terms of an update time. Things are getting into gear, as promised, and some nice comforting KiraxLacus is to come.

And to clarify from the last A/N, when I say sequel versus continuation, I mean should I add the "Destiny" stuff to this fic or post it in a separate sequel? I don't mean that the story will be Destiny exactly, just as this isn't SEED exactly. Rather, I'm using the term to refer to the timeframe of the next part of the story. More to come soon.

**EDIT:** Okay, the very first review on this chapter brings up a valid point about Athrun and Kira's story: how the hell did Patrick buy it? Basically, there are three kinds of people who would believe such a story, the naive (Nicol), the trusting (Dearka and Yzak, of what Le Creuset tells them, that is), and the dangerously paranoid/insance. It is my contention, after watching SEED a couple of times, that Patrick Zala is definitly crazy. I think Junius Seven and the death of his wife was the act that broke him, and his self-perpetuating hate for the Naturals only made it worse. I actually think that the character of Patrick can legitimately be said to be so far gone, that he could totally buy into such a crazy story. As Athrun suggest, he laps this kind of thing up. After the Clyne betrayal, both in this story and in the canon series, I think Patrick probably was seeing traitors everywhere, including his own son. Remember how Le Creuset played him as well; it was all because of that craziness. And again, notice how the only rational person we are exposed to with knowledge of the story first hand, Le Creuset, clearly doesn't buy it. But he's a creeper, so he naturally doesn't mention it. Heck, even Kira says he can't believe Patrick bought it. This is a crazy plan hatched out of an overriding need with and huge possibility for failure. Athrun would know his father best, and know full well that he has lost his reason. And thus, Patrick bought a wild, ludicrous story.


	15. At Present Singing Small

_**At Present Singing Small**_

"It's already being a week, but we still aren't seeing any appreciable progress," said the admiral. The surrounding boardroom, normally the meeting place of the Atlantic Federation policy board alone, today held all of the senior political and military officials of the Earth Alliance.

"But it has been only a week. And the new mobile suits have kept the losses even," retorted the Eurasian Federation chief-of-staff.

"We were told that the new mobile weapons would guarantee us rapid and complete victories," said the Atlantic president. "So far I'm not seeing much sign of that."

"North Africa is not a typical engagement," said the chief-of-staff, growing annoyed. "ZAFT has numerous redoubts and bases in the region. You can hardly expect frontal assaults against fortified positions to yield the same figures as normal combat."

"Gentlemen, this is all moot," said Muruta Azrael, cutting off further debate. "We are wasting our time and weapons in North Africa. If we are to win this fight, it will need to be in space."

"And how exactly to you expect us to get large numbers of mobile suits into space within any kind of reasonable time frame, Azrael?" said the Eurasian. "ZAFT strike against Porta Panama cut off the last of our mass drivers."

"Which is why we have to finish things up in Africa soon," said Azrael. "With the Victoria mass driver back in our hands, we could easily begin the reinforcement of our fleets."

"But that is going to take time, Azrael," said the admiral. "Time we might not have. ZAFT is sending lots of reserves to L2, and they may well drop on Africa soon, or attack the lunar fleets, for that matter."

"Well, we may not be able to get into space very readily," conceded Azrael with a smirk. "But things can come down from space quite easily. And one of my sleeper cell units has just reached the moon, and well be bringing down a very special addition to our arsenal."

"Dammit, Azrael, get to the point," grumped the chief of staff.

"Gentlemen, it is time to take your nuclear arsenals out of moth balls." Azrael raised a hand to quiet the shouts of derision. "Admiral, the intelligence brought back by your ensign was quite right. ZAFT has just begun to field nuclear powered mobile suits, thanks to a new technology called the N-Jammer Canceller. Granted, it has a confined range, but it's more than enough to let a reactor function or have a bomb reach criticality. And my sleeper cell is bringing the technical documentation in tonight. Research and Development on the Moon already confirms that it will only take a matter of days to replicate and produce in sufficient numbers. Then, we strike Africa."

"That's quite something, Azrael," said the president.

"And, I'll admit, it could work right into our timetable," said the chief of staff. "Those few days will allow us to disengage and withdraw our forces."

"No," said Azrael. "The idea is to eliminate as much of the ZAFT presence in Africa as we can. We have many mobile weapons and replacement soldiers. We'll simply leave the frontlines in place to continue to draw out the enemy, and have a strike team ready to capture the mass driver once the primary forces are eliminated."

"You… you can't be serious, Azrael," murmured the chief of staff. "The bulk of the Eurasian ground forces are engaged in Africa. They'll be wiped out right alongside the ZAFT troops."

"Regrettable, but necessary…" said Azrael with a grin. "For a Blue and Pure world."

"God damn you and your Blue Cosmos!" roared the officer, rising from his seat. "You cannot expect the Eurasian Federation to accept this! We will not!"

"I'm afraid we'll have to expect it," said Azrael, a facetious look of sadness on his face. "I take it you'll order the withdrawal anyways?"

"You're damned right I will!" continued the chief of staff. "You and your Atlantic Federation are trying to cripple us Eurasians. I will not stand for it!"

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Making a beckoning motion with his hand, Azrael stepped back with a smirk. "These gentlemen will just have to make sure you wont reveal anything then." The doors of the room slid open and a dozen men in suits walked in, all carrying handguns at the ready. The entire Eurasian delegation was forced up at gunpoint. The chief of staff, as he was led out of the room, only paused to glare at Azrael, condemning him with his eyes.

"Well, gentlemen," said Azrael as the doors shut behind the Eurasians. "I believe the time has come for the ascendancy of the Atlantic Federation. The time of our world is soon."

* * *

"How is she doing?"

Kira looked up in surprise. He hadn't realized how sleepy he had been, but he had evidently drifted off, as he had not heard the door opening to Lacus's quarters. Athrun stood there now, looking tired in his Red uniform.

"She's better," said Kira, standing. "The doctor said the majority of the wounds were purely superficial, and the only reason her body didn't repair them was because they were inflicted so regularly. As for her mental condition…"

Kira sighed and leaned back against the bulkhead, beside his friend.

"She's not like she was when we rescued her. I mean, she talks and is aware of what happened, but she's now just clammed up, as if its too much to deal with."

Athrun nodded.

"Her father meant the world to her. Losing him, combined with the physical trauma inflicted on her by the very people who were supposed to protect the people of the PLANTs…" Athrun grimaced. "She's tough, Kira. I'm sure you already know it, but I've been around her for a long time. She'll pull through. Just give her some time."

Athrun squeezed his friend's shoulder and then turned and left the dark quarters. Kira stared at Lacus's peacefully sleeping form for a while longer. Turning too, he left went into the hall, where Athrun was waiting for him.

"How's the feeling of command?" asked Kira, jokingly. Athrun, after the escape, had taken over responsibility for the _Vesalius_, as her bridge crew and senior leadership in general had either been killed or were now in lockdown.

"It sucks," said Athrun, massaging his temples as they made their way towards the lift. "I'm honest enough to admit that I'm still too inexperienced for this. But we're managing. We've had no problems with the crew and are on track to reach L4 within a day. The one problem we do have is with our former teammates."

"Oh?" said Kira. He hadn't thought about either Nicol or Dearka since they had come aboard five days before. His entire time had been occupied at Lacus's side, attending to her every need or simply watching her sleep.

"Well, I haven't exactly talked with them yet, but I'm anticipating that Dearka will resist all the way," said Athrun. "Nicol we can convince; I'm sure he already feels bad about what happened to the Clyne's. And at least we grabbed Dearka, not Yzak. That would be impossible to handle. But at any rate, I just wanted you along for some back up."

"Lead on," said Kira, gesturing forward as the lift doors opened. They rode in silence to the brig. Nicol and Dearka were being kept for the moment away from the rest of the crew loyal to Patrick Zala, but were still left in one cell.

"Look who it is," said Dearka derisively as they stopped outside of their cell. He continued laying back on his cot while Nicol stood and walked over to the bars.

"I'm sorry about this, you two," began Athrun.

"What is going on?" asked Nicol. "No one has explained anything."

"I imagine that you've got the general idea that we've left ZAFT," said Athrun sarcastically.

"Yeah. Got that one," muttered Dearka.

"Well, Kira and I have both seen, first hand, what my father is willing to do." Athrun sighed. "He is turning this into a war of extermination. He'll wipe out all of the naturals, if given the chance."

"And you betrayed him because of that?" asked Nicol in earnest.

"That and what happened to Lacus," said Kira quietly. "You must have seen her brought down from the truck."

Nicol lowered his head, ashamed by her treatment. But then he looked up again, meeting Athrun's eyes.

"What do you intend to do?" he asked.

"We've joined with a group of like minded individuals, from ZAFT, Orb, and the Earth Forces," Athrun replied. "We're going to try to force a piece, to stop this war from getting any worse."

"Is that actually possible?" said Nicol.

"Like hell it is," said Dearka.

"I believe it is," continued Athrun, ignoring Dearka's comment. "We have a chance to stop any worsening of the conflict, something that everyone wants, if they weren't so blinded by irrational hatred to miss it."

"So…" pondered Nicol. "Are you trying to recruit me?"

"To be honest, yes," admitted Athrun. "The addition of the Blitz would be valuable, and you're the best pilot for it. How about it?"

"We won't have to fight ZAFT will we?" said Nicol.

"Others can do that if you don't want to," said Athrun. "And Kira has shown that you can cripple the other side without killing them."

"I… I want the war to stop, Athrun," said Nicol, slowly. "I want to return home, to my family, to my piano. Will this work?"

Athrun reached through the bars, clasping his friend's arm.

"Only if we believe. I won't lie to you, this wont be easy. No one's pretending it will be. But this is a chance to set things right. To stop our people from committing an atrocity like Junius Seven."

"Then I'll join you, Athrun," said Nicol, with a small smile. "I want peace to come soon."

"And you Dearka?" asked Kira.

"Me?" said Dearka, with fake incredulity. "Why I'm just comfy in this cell, especially once this other traitor leaves. He will be leaving, right?"

"Don't be like this, Dearka," said Athrun. "You've seen first hand how my father is now. You saw what they did to Lacus."

Dearka's expression was pained, but he ignored them, rolling over to face the bulkhead. Athrun sighed and shook his head. As Nicol stepped out of the cell and they relocked the door, Kira turned back to Dearka.

"The offer will always stand."

Still receiving no reply, the three left Dearka to his own devices in the brig.

* * *

"It's good to see you two again_,"_ said Murrue, seating herself around the _Vesalius's_ wardroom table.

"It's good to be back," said Athrun, with a smile. "This little operation was a little more stressful than I had expected."

"I'd believe it," said Mu with a grin, seated next to Murrue.

"And you Kira? You don't look to good," said Murrue.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired," Kira replied.

"Miss Clyne has been in bad shape and Kira has been looking out for her," explained Athrun.

"Well, every one of us from ZAFT appreciates it," said Andrew, with genuine warmth. "How is she?"

"The doctor has treated all of her physical injuries, which were mostly light in the first place," said Kira. "The only problem now is her emotional state. Athrun thinks she just needs some time to work through everything that has happened. We've been trying to give her that time."

"Good… Well," began Andrew. "What do we intend to do next?"

"Apparently, we were wrong about the rate of mobile suit production," said Cagalli, speaking up finally. "Now that we have the courier ship bringing us vital parts from Orb's resource satellites, our production rate has stepped up dramatically. We're going to have a lot of extra suits to stash as back-ups. But, at the same time, it appears that the Earth Alliance was concealing their production facilities. A few reports have trickled in about a massive offensive in Africa, led by new Earth mobile suits."

"That does change things," admitted Mu.

"And ZAFT has moved many of their reserves to L2," continued Cagalli. "Their proximity to the Moon has put the Earth Forces lunar fleets on alert. They are apparently holding in defensive positions for now, but if the offensive in Africa continues and ZAFT moves to drop in support of their forces, the fleets may move out to engage."

"That kind of engagement is still too big for us now," said Andrew. "Even with the addition of the _Vesalius_ and the Blitz, and hopefully the Buster, we're still too out numbered."

"We'll always be outnumbered, whenever we engage," replied Athrun. "All we can count on are the two sides to be heavily engaged enough to distract them from our approach."

"Are you trying to suggest we just fling ourselves into the fray?" asked Cagalli sternly. "Orb is not one for suicide."

"No, of course not," Athrun retorted. "I'm simply saying we can't be too skittish because of numerical disadvantages."

"You're right Athrun," said Murrue. "The element of surprise is the only thing that would get us into such a battle, and we only get that chance once."

"Well then we obviously need to save that chance for the most critical moment," continued Mu.

"In this case, prudence and caution may be our best recourses," interjected Ledonir. "My pilots are steadily improving, but any extra time will help. Beyond that, if we reveal our position to ZAFT, or even the Earth Forces, we'll have crippled much of our ability to intervene later."

"I'm afraid you are right," said Athrun with a sigh. "The dramatic way in which we left, both times really, is sure to have my father enraged. If he doesn't have pickets out coming space for our location, then I don't know him."

"I think that settles it, then," said Murrue. "We need to sit tight for now. Let Orb's pilots get up to speed and our new recruits from ZAFT get integrated. We can revise our plan once the intelligence arrives with the Orb courier."

"Very well," said Andrew, rising. "Let's get back to our own ships."

The group broke up and drifted out of the room, eventually leaving only Kira and Athrun sitting, while Cagalli stood to leave.

"Kira, I've got an idea," Athrun muttered quickly. "Ms. Athha?" Cagalli stopped in her tracks. "I was wondering if we might borrow one of your crew."

"Whom are you referring to?" she asked.

"Kira's friend, Mir…. Miriallia, was it?" Athrun said.

"What for?" Cagalli said, terse as ever.

"There are a few personnel issues onboard the _Vesalius_, problems that a teenaged girl would be uniquely capable of solving."

"Nothing indecent, I hope," murmured Cagalli, quirking an eyebrow.

"Of course not!" said Athrun, blushing. "Miss Clyne might want some female companionship!"

"Oh… that's sensible." Cagalli turned back to the hatch. "I'll have her sent over right away."

* * *

"Kira!" said Miriallia, bounding in through the door, followed closely by Athrun.

"Quiet," muttered Athrun. "Ms. Clyne might be sleeping right…"

Athrun's voice trailed off as he saw the bed before them. Lacus was certainly sleeping, and so was Kira. Kira had evidently been kneeling at the side of the bed when sleep had taken him, as he was slumped over, his head cradled on his arm and his face only inches from Lacus's.

"Well that is very cute," cooed Miriallia happily. "Anything going on there?"

"Let's just wake him," said Athrun, ignoring her comment. He tiptoed forward, stealthily, and poked Kira on the arm. "Kira! Kira!" he hissed, nearly silent. "Wake up!" Kira stirred and opened his eyes, only to find Lacus right before him. Blood rushing to his face, he darted back and lost balance, toppling back into Athrun. He regained his footing and stood, following Athrun and Miriallia back out of the room.

"Your girlfriend?" asked Miriallia, trying to get a rise out of her friend.

"Kira, you do look exhausted," said Athrun before he could reply. "I came to bring Miriallia to spell your relief. You need it."

"Mmm… I suppose you're right," said Kira. "It's not that big a deal though. I mean, if this inconveniences you, Milly."

"Absolutely not," she insisted. "All they've been having me do on the _Kusanagi_ is gofer work anyways. This is a pleasant break."

"All right, then. If you're sure," said Kira, obviously unsure himself.

"100 percent," Miriallia said. "Now go off to bed." Yawning, Kira nodded his assent and stumbled off towards his own quarters.

"Actually, before I go, there is one other thing I was hoping you could do for me," said Athrun. "You know that we have another captured pilot in the brig? Well, he's a friend, and I was hoping that you could keep an eye on him. You know, bring him food. Talk to him. I think if he talks with someone besides me or Kira, especially if it's a pretty girl, he's much more likely to come around to our side of things."

"All right, as long as he doesn't try to hit on me," said Miriallia warily.

"No guarantees," said Athrun, already walking off towards the lift.

* * *

Lacus awoke, blinking the sleep form her eyes. The room was still dark, but she could tell something was different. She sat up a little, keeping the warm blankets pulled tight around her, and peered into the shadows while her eyes adjusted. She was surprised to find a girl in an Orb uniform staring back at her.

"Up already?" said the girl as she reached for the light controls. The dimmers activated and slowly increased the intensity of the light, with plenty of buffer room for Lacus's genetically engineered eyes to adapt.

"Where is Kira?" she asked, before blushing at her rudeness. "I'm sorry, you've been watching out for me, and I haven't even asked your name."

"I'm Miriallia. Miriallia Haw. You can call me Milly," the girl replied with a smile. "I'm a friend of Kira's from Heliopolis. I came up from Orb with Representative Athha. Athrun Zala asked me to take over watching you, Miss Clyne, because Kira was getting exhausted,"

"Oh goodness, I can't have you calling me Miss Clyne," said Lacus with a small grin. "Please do call me… Lac…us…" Her voice broke down as she realized that that was the first smile she had made since… since…

She closed her eyes, trying to stave off the tears, but to no avail. She felt Miriallia move forward to embrace her as she sobbed silently. After a moment, Lacus drew back form the girl and took a deep breath.

"Thank you," she said with a sad smile. "This is probably more than you were expecting."

"That you would be hurt after all that has happened to you?" said Miriallia. "I… I lost my boyfriend, my first love, when the Earth Forces flattened Orb. We had made it through the Battle of Heliopolis and the Battle of the Orbit and made it back to our home. Only for him… only for him to be killed because the shelter he was closest too closed its doors too quickly. So, I understand loss."

The two girls sat silently, thinking and feeling. Miriallia looked up first, her eyes bright.

"But I'm okay now. I won't forget, but I've come to terms with what happened." She smiled brightly at Lacus. "I'm not saying you need to deal with it right away, but I'm just telling you that it will hurt less in the future. And if you ever want to talk, find me."

Lacus nodded and looked down at her toes, her neck tingling with Miriallia's stare.

"Are you okay listening?' she asked, still staring down.

"Of course. But don't do it now, if you don't feel like it yet," replied Miriallia.

"No, I feel like speaking now," said Lacus, shaking her head. "It's mostly my father. I lost my mother when I was young. I hardly even remember her, but my father had always been with me. He supported me every step of the way, when I entered school, when I began singing, he was always there for me. But now…" Tears broke out again, spilling onto her cheeks. "Now he's gone. And only because he was trying to protect me and everyone else. He was murdered for trying to be good." She sniffed and wiped her eyes, while Miriallia gripped her leg. "Even the physical pain wasn't that bad while in prison. Knowing that they had killed him first… The pain just let me divorce myself from reality."

"But it was pretty brutal, too, wasn't it?" asked Miriallia. "Are you sure it's not a problem?"

"Yes, I'm sure," said Lacus, confidently. "Because Kira came to get me." She smiled a little bit. "I was still lost then, but I remember him coming in and taking care of me. And then, here in this room, whenever I would wake up, he would be there, ready to get me anything."

"Yeah, he's a good guy, isn't he?" said Miriallia with a knowing smile.

"He certainly is," agreed Lacus, perhaps a little too vigorously.

"And he'll never figure out that you like him in a million years."

"W-what?!" Lacus said, whipping her head around in horror while blushing beet red.

"It's really, extremely obvious," replied Miriallia. "To other people, it's really clear. Come on, you can't have been oblivious to this."

"No…" conceded Lacus, blushing again when she remembered one conversation with Athrun. It had been only a little less than two months ago that she had been at her estate with Kira and Athrun, but it seemed like ages in the past. So much had happened since…

"But you know he like's you too, right?" said Miriallia, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" said Lacus, looking up in surprise. "I mean, he does? But… He couldn't possibly…"

"Well, he is a really nice guy, but I've seen the way he looks at you, even when you're sleeping, maybe especially then," said Miriallia, shrugging. "He thinks he's being secretive about it, but it is really obvious."

Lacus opened her mouth, about to disagree with all her might, when the door chime rang. It slid open and Athrun stepped in, carrying a tray loaded with breakfast offerings.

"Am I interrupting anything?" he asked, noticing the two girls' positions and proximity.

"N-nothing at all!" squeaked Lacus.

"Are you all right, Lacus? You seem-"

"_Commander Zala to the bridge. Commander Zala to the bridge. Priority message inbound."_

Athrun sighed and turned, glancing over his shoulder before leaving.

"I'll be back soon. Kira might be back then," he said. "He's still sleeping pretty soundly."

The door slid shut in time to hide Lacus's massive blush from Athrun's retreating back.

* * *

"Commander Waltfeld, what seems to be the problem?" said Athrun. He still felt uncomfortable about taking the command chair himself, so he stood beside it, looking up at the communications screen.

"_I was just relayed this message from the Orb ships. Apparently, their courier just arrived and transmitted the latest intelligence to them."_ Andrew sighed and cocked his head. "_This is bad, Athrun. This will change everything."_

"What is it?" said Athrun, frowning now, worried at the pained expression on the older man's face.

"_Earth Alliance forces have taken the Victoria mass driver unopposed because the entirety of the ZAFT and Earth Forces frontline units were wiped out in a massive nuclear bombardment,"_ said Andrew. "_And the Eurasian Federation capital, Brussels, was wiped out as well."_

Athrun sat, stunned.

"_There is going to be hell to pay for this,_" said Andrew, looking grim. "_And god knows where it will stop."_

* * *

**A/N:** Alright, to wrap up some questions from the comments, it should be quite clear that Lacus is not going to be permanently out of it, but she will have some long term problems. More importantly, a Lacus and Kira moment just became inevitable. And stand by for Dearka and Miriallia, and maybe a little Athrun and Cagalli. We'll have to see how it plays out. After all, having taken the suggestions of the few who responded, I'm now planning the plot for the sequel arc, so if there are things you find are left out of this story, just wait for round 2. Also, I'd like to thank those of you have already commented. It's nice to see some of my old readers back, even after the delay. I've experienced the annoyance of a slow-to-update writer, and appreciated every one of you has stuck with this story. I'd like to think that my current prolific writing is making up for the pause a bit. In fact, this chapter would have been posted last night, had not the login/submission feature of the site not been down. Once again, more to come soon.


End file.
